Quiet Desperation
by Iris Clou
Summary: [bassrock] Bass learns what it truly means to be a robot with free will, and with the help of friends and family, shares the experience with Rock.
1. Know Mine is the Hand to Hold

**[Years of War | Porter Robinson]**

"Bass!"

Rock's ears had become sensitive after these months and months of peace, each shot fired from his buster making his head hurt.

"This time! I won't let you go!"

There was such anger, unfounded rage in the voice that cried back.

It had worn thin, this constant oppression, on the blue robot, but he was thankful Bass had chosen a non-residential area to fight.

It meant something was different this time.

Maybe he really did just want to take him out, without destroying the rest of the world around him for once.

For a moment, as he slid down the cement siding of a broken-down office building, Rock considered it. Considered letting Bass take it all out on him, and leave. Something inside him knew, knew that wouldn't solve anything. That Bass would not feel better, and Rock certainly wouldn't feel great smashed to bits on the street.

So he fought. Fought through repetition and boredom, fought through the exhaustion, of having to drive off the straggler, always biting at his ankles.

Something was different.

Bass was downright clumsy.

Utterly, obviously.

He wasn't fighting Rock, but himself.

"Don't you get tired of this?!" Blue glowed gold in the bright summer sunlight that shone from behind him. He knew being up this high, above the ruins of this abandoned city, on the roof of this building – it'd make Bass stop to try and search him out in the harsh light. Stall, for time.

"I'll _never_ get tired of beating you to a pulp, Megaman!" Bass blindly rushed towards the building on which Rock stood, clawing, climbing and jumping like a crazed animal, to reach him, to tear him apart. To bring back his remains, to Wily, to see him remade, to be just like him – something Wily promised, but-

"Really?" Rock's voice was strained, wobbly. He didn't feel like yelling, but he wasn't exactly within whispering distance of the other.

"Are you stupid?! Did I fucking STUTTER?!"

Bass shrieked, now only meters from his most hated rival. He had him cornered. How stupid! What an idiot, trapping himself on top of a tall building like this. Sure, they could both survive the fall, but not without serious consequences.

Rock may have been made with "tender loving care" or whatever bullshit that Dr. Light said, but he sure as hell didn't get brains to match, Bass figured. He held up his own buster, charging it. He loathed the apathy in Rock's eyes. There should have been fear, terror, should have been begging, down on his knees–

"Bass, why don't you just stop? If I really died, would that make you happy? Doctor Wily is in prison, he's not coming back."

Hopefully.

Rock could never be too sure. Even with all the terrible things he put his robot masters through, they always seemed to be ever faithful to him, and he never stayed incarcerated for long when they came to his rescue.

…Maybe it was a creation's devotion to its master.

Or a child wanting to please its father.

The thought made Rock's skin crawl.

"Yes! If you die, I'll be the strongest robot on the planet! And Wily _will_ come back." Bass loved the feeling of advancing on the smaller robot, slowly lowering his arm to keep it in line with Rock's forehead.

He blinked, then aimed for his chest instead. That was the part Dr Wily would remake anyway. He wouldn't need _Kokoro_ anymore, but the positronic brain was important, should be preserved. Had combat memory.

"And he's going to make me stronger, make new parts for me, he said that I can rule over all the robots, in the new world he'll create!"

Bass snarled, just feet away from the small blue robot.

"But you're just a kid! How could you rule over all the robots?!" Rock spat back, trying to push down his anger. Wily was insane, and that alone was enough, but when he thrust it onto his creations–it became simply abominable.

" _WITH AN IRON FIST!"_ Bass roared, letting the charge shot go, and Rock jumped back to dodge –

Not fast enough! The shot hit him in the hip as he leapt away, and he fell like a stoned bird, rolling, frantically trying to recover before he reached the edge of the building.

"WHY AREN'T YOU FIGHTING ME, MEGAMAN?!" Bass puffed up his chest, stomping angrily to where Rock knelt, clutching his newly torn side, the sparks from it making his hands hurt. He pushed at the wires. A mistake. A mistake that could seriously cost him.

Was he putting too much faith in Bass's potential?

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO KEEP FIGHTING! THE WORLD IS AT PEACE NOW! CAN'T YOU LEAVE IT LIKE THAT?!" Rock shuddered in pain, his voice shaking. He swallowed dryly.

"There's never peace in a world ruled by humans." Bass sneered, towering above the little blue robot, trying to decide whether he wanted to kick at him a little before shooting him once and for all. "There never will be. You trust them too much. They're violent and petty. Why don't you realize that WE are the better breed? Why WON'T you realize this? You're not entirely stupid, Megaman. This is common sense."

"And your world of robots, _that_ will be perfect and without violence?" Rock panted.

Bass was stronger than he expected. He was in a very tight spot, and if he didn't stall or distract the robot, he didn't stand much of a chance point blank.

Bass narrowed his eyes. Buster shot to the face–wait no, heart, gotta keep the brain intact–it was then. This runt was pissing him off.

"I will do what is necessary for robots to reach their full potential. And you're in my way."

Neither one expected nature itself to interrupt, for a rough gale of wind to rush violently across the top of the building, knocking Rock over, and catching Bass off guard.

There was a sharp cry of alarm, as Rock found himself tumbling off the side, pain forgotten in the desperate struggle to cling to the edge – but it was long gone. Even with arms flailing against the walls, he could not find purchase–

Bass found it for him.

"You fucking IDIOT!" He screamed down, one hand tightly wrapped around Rock's wrist. The pain was immense as his fingers dug sharply into the boy's arm – Bass simply did not know his own strength.

"WHY?!" Rock had finally lost his will to continue. Here, Bass had every chance to just reach his other arm over the side of the building and blast him to smithereens while he dangled pathetically in his grip. "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST WATCH?!"

Bass struggled for an answer. He couldn't bear the truth - that it had been instinct.

"B…BECAUSE I WANTED TO KILL YOU MYSELF."

"DO IT! DO IT NOW!" Rock screamed back at him, the wind tossing him around wildly. He felt his hand go numb at the pressure Bass put on his arm.

"NO! I HAVE TO FIGHT YOU!"

"COWARD!"

"I'M NOT A COWARD YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU'RE THE COWARD! YOU DIDN'T EVEN DEFEND YOURSELF! YOU TRIED TO RUN AWAY!"

As much as Bass loved screaming at Rock, he felt his voice lose its strength. Something was wrong with the twerp. He looked even more pathetic than usual.

He didn't actually…he didn't actually want to die, did he? He was a kid. Kids were supposed to be stupid and obnoxious and clumsy and stupid–wait, he already mentioned stupid. Dumb. They were dumb. And idiotic. Bass really wished there were more words than that to describe how …Stupid. He thought things were.

Rock didn't answer. He was tired. Simply tired. Tired of this happening, happening over and over and over again, ad infinitum. The potential of it never stopping.

"HEY! ANSWER ME, RUNT!" Bass gave him a shake, but Rock just leered up at him.

"I don't have an answer."

"WHAT?!"

"I said, I don't have an answer. These fights have become so meaningless, that–"

"YOU SAYIN' I AIN'T IMPORTANT?!"

"I'm saying us beating each other to death won't solve anything. If you kill me, someone will take my place. If I kill you, someone will take _your_ place. Don't you understand?"

Bass's grip loosened as his eyes widened, and Rock jerked to life, grabbing the robot's arm with his free hand, holding himself to it.

"Bass, please, let's just stop this. It's insane, it's always the same. We hurt each other until someone drags themselves back home to lick their wounds. It will. Never. Change."

Bass, silent, dragged him back up, letting him drop on the corner of the building. He stepped away. Slowly. His feet felt heavy, legs stiff, he wanted badly, badly to turn away. Something sick squirmed inside him at the sight of Rock laying there, motionless.

"I have to. I have to fight you." Bass forced himself to turn, looking out across the expansive roof, studded with metal vents. "It's in my pro–"

The pain was unbelievable. Fire-hot, lightning-white. Bass crumpled to his knees, not even having heard Rock charge his own buster.

"In your PROGRAMMING?!" He screeched, struggling to his feet. "Bastard!" The word felt thick on his tongue. He didn't like the things adults said, the hurt they caused, but it made the wire veins in his body throb.

"You PREACH! PREACH we're a better breed than humans! And look at you." Rock spat, knowing, without seeing his face, that Bass's eyelids were peeled back, mouth open in utter agony. "You can't even fight your own programming. Can't even exceed what you were BUILT to do. You call ME pathetic, Bass. ME. I am MORE than a robot. MORE than what I was designed to do."

He took trembling steps to the boy in front of him.

"This is why, why I will always win. And you will always try to find a better gun, or better rocket boosters, or better armor. Because you can't rely on yourself, to be better than the body you were built." Rock was whispering now.

Bass still did not move.

"I know you're more, so much more than your programming, Bass. Why don't you act like it, why don't you own yourself, for once? I promise…" Gingerly, for the pain in his side was piercing, he stepped to the side of the larger robot, padding softly to the front, where he knelt down, trying to catch the stricken gaze of his rival.

Bass did not speak for a long time.

"You didn't charge your buster…completely." He managed hoarsely. "Why? You…you could have done it. You know, I'll always, always come back, for you, I'll–"

"You don't have to always come back for me. You can have a life outside of fighting me. And..." A feather-like pause, "I didn't want to kill you, Bass. I never have." Rock's words were gentle now, and he winced as he settled to sit on his knees in front of the boy.

"But…" Bass felt slick oil fill his lungs, and he coughed violently, watching it splatter on the cement, his fingers gripping at the loose wires at his stomach. Not even a fully charged shot, and it had blasted a damn hole through him. "I… _I_ want to…" He blinked.

"Do you really? Is it that hard for you to think beyond what you were programmed to think? Did you really believe you were your own person, all this time…when you couldn't even do that?" Rock's voice was tender and full of pity.

To think, for every waking moment of Bass's life, he was believing the lie that he had…free will. When all he had done was follow the path Wily had made for him. All the falsehoods Wily had told him, he had begun to think were his own, individual thoughts. Rock felt his heart sink.

The boy slowly held out his hand for him to hold.

"You can be more than what Wily made you to be, Bass. I believe in you."

Silence.

A bleeding silence, a drawn out deathsigh–

"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU, ROCK!" Black sheen, like the darkest winter night on a frozen lake, all burning in the summer sun–Bass screamed.

He wanted, badly, he wanted badly, to fight, tooth and nail, to shred this smiling fool in front of him, wish he could taste the oil that would spurt like black blood from him,

"I HAVE _ALWAYS_ BEEN MY OWN! I WILL _ALWAYS_ BE MY OWN!" Forcing himself to stand on unsteady feet, he snapped his buster into place, at the small child in front of him. "WILY DOESN'T CONTROL ME! _I HAVE FREE WILL!"_

He felt nothing less than horror as the first burning needles of tears stung viciously at his eyes, watching through stained glass vision as his buster's light flickered weakly, sparks jumping about the barrel. He was too damaged to fire a charged shot.

"Come home, Bass." Rock reached out, to push down the gun, his other hand leaving his injured side to grasp Bass's hand. "You don't have to fight to be worth something. Dad taught me that."

"I'LL _PROVE_ MYSELF TO YOU, MEGAMAN! I'LL _PROVE_ I HAVE FREE WILL! I WILL NEVER STOP! I _WILL_ BE BETTER THAN YOU, _NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!"_

Rock felt his offered hand be swatted away, before the barrel of the buster met sharply with the side of his head, and the furious face of the boy in front of him faded to black.

–

"Hey. Hey, c'mon bro. Wake up. It's no time to take a nap. You always fell asleep in the weirdest places back home, but this is ridiculous."

Husky, rusty, and deep, Rock smiled instinctively at the sound of his older brother's voice, tilting his head to feel the palm of his hand to his cheek.

"Mm."

"It was Bass, wasn't it? Jesus, if he keeps this up, I'll beat him silly with his own godawful helmet." He scoffed. "Not that Wily had any sense of style to begin with."

Blues ran his fingers through his brother's hair, checking for any injuries. He knew if his helmet was undamaged, then his head was probably fine. But that didn't stop him from making sure.

"C'mon. Rock. We need to get you home. Dad can fix this better than me. I'll send Bass a calling card. If he wants a fight, he can have one with me." Carefully, Blues pulled his brother up into a sitting position, letting him steady himself on his shoulder.

"Mm…" Rock shook his head, still not wanting to open his eyes. "…no. He needs to…be by himself…for a bit. I think…he realized something today."

"A bit of forever, if you ask me. C'mon, bro. Let's go home. You know how Roll worries."

Rock simply smiled, burying his nose into the familiar scent of Blue's ascot, as his brother held him to his chest, climbing slowly down the fire escape.


	2. Sad Machine

**[Sad Machine | Porter Robinson | Killabyte Remix]**

It was a ways home.

So many times had Bass fallen off Treble's back from pain, weakness, that the canine familiar decided it was time to carry him home the proper way – like a puppy.

So, Bass was firmly clasped in the space behind the wolf's large fangs, held there with utmost care and delicacy. Treble trotted briskly towards the setting sun while Bass complained endlessly. The wolf was used to this after all the years spent with his master.

"I can't…can't believe this…was he…was he being sneaky? Rock– _Megaman_ …he's…he's not one to shoot someone in the back like that." Bass muttered to himself, watching the stones and dandelions go by beneath him, as Treble continued to carry him home.

"He could have done it. I… _I_ could have done it." He watched his fingers aimlessly brush the dirt road they followed. "But why didn't we? And…"

His fingers curled, hands balled into thick, powerful fists.

"I KNOW I have free will. I KNOW it. What a fucking FOOL he is, to say I don't." The growl burned at the lump in his throat.

He paused.

"Treble?" Bass's voice was quiet, small. He glanced up as best he could, but only could see the fluffy cheeks of his companion.

"Boomf?" Treble did his best to woof around his master's waist.

"…I have free will, don't I? Da-…Wily made me with the ability to choose…didn't he?"

"Boomf." Treble affirmed, pushing his tongue against the side of the boy, making him laugh.

"Yeah…I thought so." Bass smiled warmly. "You're smarter than Megaman any day. And his puny mutt."

Treble let out another "Boomf" of pride, swishing his tail happily, ears twirling forward to focus on his master's breathing.

By the time the sun was cradled in the dark brambly hills of the Wily residence, deep black storm clouds were rolling in. A summer storm. Any other day, Bass would have been elated, and grabbed his brother, Elecman to go out chasing the thunder like when they were—

Bass cringed at the thought of there being a time when he was "younger." He wasn't a child. But he wasn't a grown-up, either.

All Bass knew was that he missed those days. When he wasn't…constantly looking for Megaman, to beat him down time after time. When he actually had spare moments to be with his brothers.

Since he had…A lot of them.

Knowing Shadowman had already broken Wily out of prison by now, Treble made sure to avoid him on the way in, knowing Bass would have a fit if his creator saw him in this shape, but to no avail. Wily heard them enter, but did not stir from the schematics on his light table. Bass could hear a steady dripping.

The old man still hadn't gotten one of the brothers to fix the leak in the ceiling. Which was…three stories high. And not many of the brothers were fond of heights.

Bass groaned. Oh well.

"Ah! Bass, you've returned. Finally pummeled that pretentious punk to a pulp, perhaps?"

Treble rolled his eyes before Bass could do the same. The boy simply pressed his hand to his face and let out a drawn out grumble.

Silence.

"Ah, well. There will always be a next time. Dr Light won't be around forever, and the fool created children to fight his battles. Children are useless without their parents. We can always wait it out."

Bass felt his insides twist in his gut, and his his metaphorical stomach lurched sickly.

 _There will always be a next time._

Treble instantly felt the shift in Bass's mood, and quickly slunk off to the boy's room, smartly closing the door behind them with his tail. He stood up on his hind legs and carefully let the boy down onto his bed.

After yawning and licking his lips, for having a young boy stuffed in your jaws for a few hours could make them quite sore, Treble nestled his head between his massive paws, staring intently at Bass.

He only met his gaze briefly, before flicking his fuschia eyes to the dark walls of the room. He liked black. But Treble was purple. So he compromised, and painted everything a messy mix of both colors. And he liked it. Made the place feel cool and relaxed.

"Moof." Treble whuffed with concern at Bass's despondence.

"It's not you."

"Moof."

"Yeah, I know you know. But…"

"Hwoof."

"Okay, look, I just…I don't get it. Why wouldn't Wily tell me…I didn't have to fight all the time? I mean…" Bass narrowed his eyes until they glowed. "I like fighting. And I like winning. But I don't…I don't know if I like hurting people all the time. I mean…sometimes it's fun. When they beg for mercy and they can barely fight back. I like that. But…"

Treble cocked his head, licking his own nose.

"I…I didn't like what I saw…in Rock–Megaman's eyes. He looked…terrible. Like I didn't even have to beat him up, and he already looked defeated. Broken."

Bass paused, watching as Treble got down from the side of the bed to find replacement parts and tools for the boy to do repairs.

"What do you think's wrong with him? I don't wanna be like that. It was…"

Bass refused to admit, at any point in his life, that he felt the cold vice-grip of fear on his heart. How he had never felt it the way he did today. When he saw the death beckoning in Rock's eyes, when he was told everything he had known, been taught, learned – it had been a lie. That he had all but played right into his fath–

Creator's hands.

Bass couldn't even be angry at Wily anymore. It was a dull loathing, a bored indifference to one another. Bass just existed, and so did Wily. Sometimes.

Sometimes it didn't feel like they existed at all. And certainly never at the same time.

Treble spat out the needed tools and spare parts onto the bed, before picking them up in his mouth and handing them to Bass as he went to work. The wolf eventually hopped up on the bed to curl about the boy, giving him both physical and emotional support.

"Boof." Treble replied thoughtfully.

"You think he's sad? Why? Why would that little runt be sad? He has a dad, a sister, and…well. A delinquint brother, but seeing as I have more than enough of those…I'll still count it. He even has a shitty little dog. How could he possibly be sad?! He has everything a human child could want."

"Smoof." Treble nuzzled his nose against the boy's hip.

A loud crack of thunder rattled the factory ceiling, and echoed all across the residence. The lights flickered to Bass's disdain.

"You're fucking joking. Quit it." The boy's lips curled in an ugly pout.

"Smooo-hooo-ooooof." Treble let out a low whining howl.

"HE'S NOT SAD BECAUSE OF ME! HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ME! NO ONE DOES!" Bass snapped, pushing the wolf's head away forcefully.

"Moof." Treble woofed softly.

"He doesn't…he couldn't." Bass felt himself shake at the thought. For as long as he could remember, he always had fought with Rock, tooth and nail, and he had loved every minute of it.

But when he thought of fighting anyone else…he immediately grew bored at the idea. It was only Rock he felt excited to see. To challenge.

Still shaking, unable to come to terms with the concept of not only someone caring about him, his thoughts, feelings, his quality of life– but his own sworn rival, Bass felt Treble weasel his huge head into his lap.

The boy immediately relaxed, running his hands along the sleek metal mane, and then behind it to bury his fingers in the thick, wooly fur that was hidden behind the metal.

He was quiet for a very long time, with Treble lazily licking his own nose every so often, his tail patting the bedsheets rhythmically.

Finally, rust clinging at his vocal chords:

"Do you think he really does? Why would he?"

"Moombf." Treble didn't even bother opening his mouth.

"We're more alike than we think?"

"Mmmoooooommmff." The wolf's eyes rolled back as Bass dug his fingers into the sweet spot behind his pet's ears.

"I mean, yeah, we both have scientist dads but…"

Bass frowned.

"Wily made me to fight Rock. Specifically him. No one else."

"Boof!" Treble barked gleefully. His master was catching on.

"W-what?! WHAT?!" Bass jerked his hands back in alarm at the response. "No! No way!"

"Boof, moof snoof… whoof." Treble continued matter-of-factly.

"No…" Bass pulled his knees up as high as he could with a wolf in his lap, and squirmed in place. "That's…"

"WOOF."

"You're saying I was MADE FOR HIM?!" Bass shouted, the words themselves like broken glass on his lips. "That's GROSS!"

He paused, then softer.

"…Really gross." His chest burned, and he pouted more. His face felt uncomfortably hot. An internal malfunction, he was sure of it.

"Hwoof."

 _It's the truth. Wily made you specifically to counter Megaman. But Megaman told you, that you could be more than what you were made to do. Maybe you could be friends, and not rivals. Maybe Megaman is sad because he knows you were made to fight him, and he doesn't want that. Maybe he wants to be friends. Would that be so bad, Master? I don't like seeing you get hurt like this._

Bass trembled at his friend's words. He never knew Treble got upset over him being hurt. He just assumed the wolf rolled his eyes and went with it. The boy felt his eyes sting hotly. He winced as his friend's long tongue shot out to lick away the pearly tears.

He knew his master did not like to show his sadness. So he helped hide it.

"I don't know. I don't know, Treble. But…maybe…maybe I won't fight him for a while."

The thunder rolled thickly overhead.

"But I still have to be the best robot. I guess that…doesn't mean I…have to be the only robot, though."

Treble looked up at his master with a widely grinning, panting face. His tongue lolled joyfully.

"But…if not fighting, what can I do…to be better than him? Stronger? Smarter? Well, I don't think I have to try TOO hard to be smarter than THAT twerp, but…I want…I want to prove Wily wrong. That I CAN do more than just fight. It's fun and all…but what if there's something even better?" His frown melted into a childish smile as his pet licked at his face.

"Smoof?"

"What do I like?" Bass furrowed his brow for a few moments. "Well…Well, I like music. And swearing."

"Poof."

"You think I should learn how to play music?"

"BOOF!"!

"Haha! Yeah, I, I guess I could do that." Bass giggled as Treble scrambled all the way into his lap, his nails scrabbling at the boy's thick shoulders, licking his face furiously. "I bet that dummy couldn't even write his own music! I'll totally kick his sorry ass with the best song EVER. And I'll make him listen to it. And he'll be so amazed by how awesome it is, he'll cry because he's a loser and–"

Somehow, the thought of Rock crying made Bass wince.

"Okay, maybe not cry, but he'll get angry, because he'll realize he can never be as cool as me, and then we'll fight about it and-"

Treble nipped the hand that was petting him. A warning.

"Okay, fine. I won't fight him the next time I see him. But I'll totally show him who's the best robot."

Bass grinned down at Treble.

"Besides. You know the old fart. He HATES rock music. This will be perfect. I'll prove both of them wrong. I AM more than my programming. And I always will be."

His best friend boofed blissfully in reply, slobbering all over the boy's face as he giggled uncontrollably.

"C'mon, boy! Stop it! That tickles! That's cheating! Haha, haha…"

Was this it? Was this what made his heart feel so light and weightless?

Free will?


	3. A Burden No Child Should Bear

**[Beyond the Bounds of Joy | Sound Adventures]**

Weeks passed. Months.

Rock grew more anxious with every passing day, not having seen hide nor hair of Bass, or even Dr. Wily.

Every night, he'd go through the memories of those final moments, which seemed to become more and more blurred every time he tried to remember details. How badly had he damaged Bass? How deep had the hole been? All the way through? Was the metal burned black to make it impossible to tell?

He hated thinking about it, hated it more than anything. How could he have done something like that? Sure, he had beaten the Robot Masters down, fought tooth and nail until they fell, but this was so much different.

Bass was like him. A kid. He wasn't an adult, and even though Rock was sure that the Robot Masters themselves probably wouldn't want to fight all day if given the opportunity, he knew they could not escape their programming.

It was a horrid thing to know, and a horrid thing to know _they_ knew it too.

Again, the lifting of his buster as Bass was turned away, didn't aim for any vitals, couldn't hurt him too bad, but had to be enough, enough to stop him, for the pain to clear his mind.

Rock knew what that was like from experience. Nothing set your priorities straight more than being inches from death.

He'd seen that in his own brother's eyes. Knew that's why he kept them covered.

Again, the bright light, the feeling of the recoil dislocating his shoulder, the noise rattling his head. Bass falling, oil spurting at first, then leaking, oozing, from him, his mouth too.

Rock wanted to scream, but bit down instead, wishing his lip would bleed. This was too much, to do night after night, but the boy could not handle the guilt of having killed someone like him, a child. Like him.

Again.

Dragging himself to the front of Bass. Kneeling down, holding out a hand.

His lips tasted oily now; bitter, foul on his tongue. But he didn't move from where he lay in bed, stiff as a board.

Again. After all those words, the feeling of an easy, easy acceptance to the black barrel in his face. If Bass had done it–

Rock didn't really know. He knew kids were supposed to fear death. To shy away and run from situations like this. But he hadn't. Was he really that tired of being alive?

Again. Again. Again. Again. Again.

Why did he look at Bass's face! And not the wound! He should have studied it more, seen if anything vital had taken collateral damage from the shot. But he couldn't stop looking at his face. Stricken, slick with oily tears, enraged, terrified.  
A child trapped in an adult's world–

Rock felt his chest heave, and he hated himself more with each noise that came from the shuddering.

Again. Again…again. But he was too tired, couldn't remember, past the blinding sun reflecting on the black barrel before it crashed into the side of his head. Tried, tried so hard to pretend he had opened his eyes after, pretend he saw Bass limping away, getting to safety and repairing himself.

But there was nothing.

He'd go back, start again, with the lifted buster, again, a-

"Hey, Rock?" Roll's voice, cracking with a thin layer of rust, from behind his door. "Rock, you alright?"

This was his fault. He never wanted Roll involved with any of the fighting he had to do, but still she wound up saving the day more than she realized. He was silent.

"Rock, you're not asleep, I know you're not. Do you have headphones in? Wait, that's stupid, if you did, you wouldn't be able to hear me anyway."

The boy smiled against his will at his sister muttering to herself.

"Alright, you know me, I'll talk your ears right off, so that's what I'm gonna do. Get ready."

Rock held back a giggle, and shifted his stiff legs.

"Okay, so like…where should I start? I know you've been acting weird lately, but I also wanna talk about my day today, because Dad doesn't know the meaning of 'don't leave out the coffee where Rush can get it,' especially now that you've been moody, 'cuz he's gotten moody too, and he'll knock it over on the floor, and guess who has to clean it up, and put the wet papers by the fan and–"

A familiar scratching noise.

"Hey, speaking of Rush, he wants in." Roll tried the doorknob.

"Rock, c'mon, Rush wants to see you. You've barely even looked at him lately. If you're sad, he can feel it too, y'know. Dad always said dogs are one of the most important things a person can have. You should…I dunno…be more appreciative or something. Well, I don't want to make it sound like, you're ungrateful for him, I know you're not, but–"

"Good God, Roll, you're gonna talk MY ears off too."

Rock jumped at the husky voice.

Blues?! In the house?

Roll quickly confirmed his suspicion.

"Blues! Wh-what are you–"

"Shut up, we all know Rock's been messed up bad since he last fought Bass. I looked him over and I don't think he got any permanent damage, so it's probably…I don't know. That _Kokoro_ thing Da-…Dr. Light gave both of you. Maybe it got…"

A shaky pause. Rock was sitting up now, straining to hear Blue's breath catch in his throat; a thick swallow.

"…hurt."

"His heart?" Roll was very quiet now, timid almost.

"…yeah. Maybe…I don't know. But I can't sit around any longer while my little brother is like this. I don't know if Bass did it, but if he did, I'll–" The rust in his throat made the words into a growl.

"I don't think…I think that'd make it worse. Rock's been…upset about Bass ever since…I don't know. Since they met, really. It must be hard…fighting someone like you or me."

Blues scoffed, and Rock could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Ha! Yeah, right. He's fought me plenty of times." There was a touch of pride in the thickness of his voice. "But yeah. I know he didn't like it. Kid doesn't like any of it. But Bass is just a fuckin' prick. I'd _pay_ to beat down a guy like him."

"Shh! Don't swear like that!"

"Dr. Light sleeps like a log. I'm done arguing, I'm going in. C'mon Rush."

"Wait, you can't just–"

"I sure as shit am."

Rock jolted as the doorknob wiggled.

"He locked it? Fine, he's getting to be that age."

Rock didn't need to see Roll's face to know the peculiar look on it. Age?

"Oh, my God! Blues!"

"Shh! I'll fix it later."

Rock had already buried himself back in bed to feign sleep, but he could see the door hinges shaking as Blues unscrewed them.

In seconds, the door was off, with the hallway light streaming in. Rush wasted no time bounding in, and hopped up on the bed, snuffling for his boy.

"Hold this, I got a baby brother to check on."

Roll stood, stunned, holding an entire door in her hands.

"W-what am I supposed to do with this?!" She whispered hotly, but Blues was already at Rock's bedside.

"Hey. Bro. Uh," He grinned, "Sorry about the door, didn't feel like knocking it down. And you know me." He ruffled his little brother's hair from under a sheet. "I'm the dramatic type. I wear these things at night for fuck's sake, that oughta say somethin.'" He flicked at the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.

Rock huddled to himself, unmoving.

"Kid. C'mon. I'm here because of you. God knows I hate this fucking place more than anything. God also knows I'd go through hell and back for your sorry ass." The ruffling paused, and became a very gentle petting.

"C'mon. Get up. I need to see you." Blues fought off a burning in his chest, a prickling behind his shades.

Rush whined, and dug at the sheets, trying to uncover his friend, but Rock pushed him away from underneath. Rush let out a louder whine.

"Get 'im, Rush. Get your boy." Blue's voice shook from behind a well-worn smile.

Rush went right to work, digging and digging until all the sheets were on the floor. In seconds, he was licking at every defiant hand that threatened to push him away again, then closer, to the boy's face.

"Ah–Rush! C'mon! Stop, stop!" Rock giggled as the dog slobbered all over his cheeks and neck, making a rumbling noise deep in his throat. He needed his boy to-be a boy again. A dog was nothing without his boy.

"Good dog, Rush." Blues gave him a few hearty thumps on his rump, before leaning down further to look at his brother.

"Rock. C'mon now. Get up. You can't fight everything on your own. It's the hardest damn truth out there. I know it because I won't believe in it. But Roll is proof it's real."

Roll stood a few feet away, having carefully set the door against the wall in the hallway. Her feet were anxiously pigeon toed, and she picked at her nails from behind her back.

"Rock…we're scared for you. We want you to be okay. Did…Bass say something bad to you?" She ventured, chewing at her bottom lip.

The boy was eventually coaxed into a sitting position, with the help of his dog and big brother.

"It's alright, Rock. You can tell us. No matter what happened, we'll believe you. We won't yell at you, okay?" Blues felt his brother tense, then relax under the weight of his arm around his shoulders. He wasn't used to Blues being affectionate when he wasn't half dead.

Or maybe he was.

Rush made a concerned dog noise.

"Did he hurt you?" Roll wanted, wanted badly, to step forward. But she knew Blues needed to feel Rock close to him, to know he could protect him. She held back.

Her brother shook his head.

"He didn't? Well, damn. What's wrong? Is it human mortality again? We all know that's bullshit, don't worry about Dad, he'll be fine, old people last longer than you'd th–" Blues hadn't even noticed his slip up before Rock interrupted him.

" _I_ hurt him."

Roll's eyes widened, and Blue's grip on his brother's shoulder tightened.

" _I_ hurt him. And I hurt him bad. _Really bad_."

He didn't like how calm and emotionless his voice sounded. He'd been tearing himself to shreds for almost two months now over the event, and now he couldn't even bring himself to tears over it. They were long gone.

"Well, good." Blues' words were hard and final. "He deserved it."

"No! No, no… _No_!" Rock jerked away like his brother's touch was like hot coals. The tears he thought were dead and gone sprung back to his eyes with a fiery vengeance, burning his cheeks.

"NOT good! No! He did not, _deserve it!_ " Rock shrieked, wanting nothing more than to be in the dark again, to think and think and think until he could no more. Maybe if he took out the _Kokoro_ that his father had given him, he could be hard, callous, uncaring, like Blues. He wouldn't worry about causing pain anymore. Wouldn't worry about anything anymore, he supposed. You couldn't be very alive without a heart, and yet–

Blues was startled at the outburst, and hesitated, before reaching out, palm up. He didn't know much, but he knew dogs were less inclined to bite this way.

"No! He…he didn't deserve anything, anything that I did to him." Rock was crying freely now, pushed against the wall, knees up to his chin, wanting to collapse in on himself like the cruel, heartless black hole he was.

Roll's knees unlocked at the sound, and she rushed to her brother, almost knocking Rush and Blues off the bed. She wasted no time burying her face in his neck, and holding him tightly to her.

"You didn't mean it, I know you didn't!" Her eyes stung with her own tears now.

"You…you, you didn't…" Blue's eyes flashed with horror from behind his dark glasses. "Rock, I'm sorry, I'm–"

A pain no child should bear hung like heavy gallows in his empty chest.

"I don't know, and I'm scared, I'm scared it was too much, I–"

Rock felt nothing but the warmth of his brother, his sister, his dog, all around him in the little bed, all at once, all at once, all at once–trying to comfort him, hold him, kiss him, wipe his tears away as he wept loudly, his jaw hurting from the tension.

It all came out, like getting sick, over and over again: suddenly, violently, agonizingly.

It was a long time before anyone moved, let alone spoke.

"I'm calling him."

" _What?!_ " Both Rock and Roll gasped, voices raspy from crying.

"I said, I'm going to call him." Blues leaned back from the warmth, and folded his arms. "You said you haven't heard anything from him. And we all know Wily and prison are like a bad celebrity couple. They last all of five minutes together." A smirk, that was reflected on Rock's face. "So, I'm gonna give our little friend a call. See how that punk of yours is doing, huh?"

Sighing, Blues shook his head and continued, "Jesus Christ, Rock. Only you. Only you, of all people would care so much about someone who wanted you flayed alive."

Roll struck, like furious cat, holding her brother close. "Rock said he DIDN'T want that! He just didn't know any better! He's right. Bass is just a kid, like you and me."

She was met with the coldest steel gaze.

"I was _never_ a child, and don't you fucking forget that, Sister. I can't see Bass as more than one of Wily's godawful creations, but if Rock cares about him, then either he's actually worth more than the dynamite it'd take to blow him up, or my baby brother's finally lost his mind."

Blues shrugged, the harshness melting like ice from his tone. "Besides. Both are hard to believe, so I need to find out myself." He grinned. "Even if you did knock the absolute shit out of that son of a bitch, Wily could always make you another one to fight with." He grinned, poking a finger into Rock's chest.

Rock's eyes filled with tears again at the thought– _if you die, you'll be replaced-_

"Woah! Shit, wait, no, I mean…Wily's a fuckass, but he's no idiot when it comes to robots. You WRECKED his robot masters. And they're still kicking. A hole in his favorite robot isn't going to stop him from repairing him. Bass is fine. He's…" Blues struggled, then suddenly grabbed his brother's hand, knotting the fingers through his own. "… _Fine_. He will be. I'll make sure he is. Alright?"

He gave the boy's hand a squeeze, looking away, something deep in him trembling, something he never thought he had. Something that had been dormant for many years now.

"I know what it's like to…be where you are right now. That's a real fear. Seeing someone like you. Hurting them. Hurting them so much it hurts you more in the end." His words shook, and his fingers loosened between his brother's.

The touch disappeared, leaving Rock's warm hands cold, clammy without his brother's holding them.

"Goddamn it, you know I spoil you BOTH rotten." Blues groaned, and rose wearily to his feet. He felt stiff. More than usual.

He dusted off his hips, and folded his arms again, looking down at his little brother and sister huddled together on the bed. He grinned wildly.

"I'll get you your Bass, even if I have to carry him here myself. Just you watch." He smiled as Rock's eyes glistened, for once without sorrow, but hope.

A pause. Blues looked over at the bare doorframe.

"Hey Roll, can you fix that? I've got a little kidnapping to do, and I'm afraid I just don't have the time." He winked and flicked the side of his glasses, making them shine in the hall light.

Roll's entire body puffed up indignantly.

"Why! Why I _never_! Just because I was BUILT to be a cleaning robot, doesn't mean I'm a live-in maid!"

Rock laughed for the first time in months, a weak laugh, but a laugh all the same. He hugged the furious Roll to him, burying his nose in her neck, and closing his eyes.

Rush boofed softly from his lap, and licked his boy's nearest elbow, making him giggle more.

Blues did a half salute, and was gone before Roll could accuse him of being a no good delinquent brother. But it didn't matter now.

Roll relaxed in Rock's embrace, turning to hold him close again, running her fingers through his hair.

"I'm good at fixing things too, y'know. But broken hearts…they're really hard to put back with just glue and tape. I guess it takes another heart to tell the hurt one it'll be okay."

She paused, and kissed Rock's temple. "And here's mine telling yours you'll be okay. Bass isn't one to give up. He just isn't. And you need to do the same. If you care about him, you won't give up either. You can't ever give up, Rock. You can't."

But he was already asleep, nestled gently in her arms, his dog snoring peacefully in his lap.


	4. Free Will

**[Shit - Neil Cicierega]**

"I…I knew something was wrong, but, I never–"

"No more excuses, Old Man. Call Wily."

Dr. Light didn't know how to feel. His first creation, his first son, was standing beside him, in the house he was raised in. For the first time in many years.

Albeit his arms were crossed and he was scowling darkly at the monitor in front of the both of them in Dr. Light's room.

If only he could say something, something–

No. Now wasn't the time. They were here for Rock, and Rock needed them to work together. As painful as it may be.

Blues watched the dialing screen impatiently, and both son and father were greeted with a curdled scream and Wily's wrinkled face smashed to the camera.

His accent was harsh as he shrieked, his closest eye ogling the two.  
"hOW DARE YOU! DOCTOR LIGHT! YOU'VE RUINED HIM! BRAINWASHED MY PERFECT ROBOT!"

Spit collected on the screen as he continued screeching accusations at Dr. Light, the faces he made becoming more and more ridiculous the more he rattled on.

Blues and Dr. Light waited a few minutes until Wily was out of breathe before cooly replying.

"No one brainwashed Bass, Albert. Calm down. He and Rock got in a…spat recently–" He glanced over at Blues, who immediately looked away, his face tense. Light continued, "And Rock's been a bit upset about it, ever since."

"upSET?! YOUR STUPID LITTLE PIECE OF SCRAP M–"

Blues snapped to attention, both hands grasping the monitor, the metal groaning under the strain of his grip. He pushed his face into their camera.

"WATCH IT, YOU WRINKLY LINT-HAIRED FUCK!"

"whAT?! LINT-HAIR?! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I–"

"Albert, please!"

"-WITH THE BEST CONDITIONER MONEY CAN BUY, YOU LITTLE RED PUNK!"

"Funny." Blues stepped back, nose up, arms folded neatly. "Looks just like what Roll pulls out of the dryer. Or from under the bed."

"whY YOU –"

" !" Dr Light boomed, his eyebrows bushing up menacingly.

"WHAT?!"

"SHUT UP! You're acting like a child!"

"Well, at least I DON'T BRAINWASH MY RIVAL'S ROBOTS, LIKE SOME PEOPLE–"

Light threw his head back, hands covering his face. He let out a drawn-out groan.

Blues sniggered, fingers to his lips.

"Albert." Back down to earth, Light shook his head. "No one's _touched_ Bass. For God's sake, I haven't even seen him in person. He and Rock had a little fight. Rock's been moody ever since, and–"

"Well of course." Wily sniffed. "The brat lost, and he's crying about how much of a loser he is."

"Yeesh, now I know where Bass got _that_ from." Blues side eyed his father, sneering.  
Light shook his head sadly.

"Albert, just tell us if Bass is doing alright. Rock is awfully worried–"

"YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW HES DOING?!"  
Wily's eyebrows reached heights unknown to most humans. "YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW THAT LITTLE PUNK IS DOING? LISTEN TO THIS!"

The screen whirled to view a long hallway with many doors on either side. One door in particular, all the way at the end, was covered in posters of heavy metal bands, glitter glue, and at least four steak knives embedded into the wood near the top.

Blues raised an eyebrow. He let out a low whistle. "Mmm, that looks like a looooost cause, if I've ever seen one. Damn, bro, you always find the worst ones, don't you?" He chuckled to himself, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"DO YOU NOT HEAR THAT WRETCHED WOMAN SINGING?!" Wily's voice shook the monitor.

Blues looked at Light and Light looked at Blues.

A woman?! Wily never spoke to women, let alone had any around for any reason at all. What was one doing in Bass's room?

Blues squinted, putting his ear up to the monitor. His eyes widened.

"Oh my fucking God, is that Kelly Clarkson?" His lips drew back to reveal the widest shit-eating grin he could manage. "Holy fucking shit dude, that's Kelly fucking Clarkson. He really IS a lost cause." He pulled back, his laughter sounding like sobbing.

"YEAH IT'S KELLY CLARKSON! HE STOLE MY CDS AND DAD WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT!" Crashman suddenly appeared on screen, clearly ruffled and upset. He turned to face an offscreen Wily. "DAAAAAAD WHY WON'T YOU MAKE HIM GIVE THEM BACK?!"

Wily stumbled embarrassedly around a few german swears before he went right back to yelling.

"IF YOU LISTEN TO GARBAGE LIKE THAT, YOU DESERVE TO HAVE YOUR CDS TAKEN AWAY! I RAISED YOU BOYS ON QUALITY MUSIC LIKE MOZART! BEETHOVEN!" He paused, "AND DON'T CALL ME DAD!"

Crashman pouted and stuck out his tongue before storming offscreen. A door slamming was heard.

Wily pulled the camera back to him.

"ANYHOW, WHATEVER YOU DID, YOU RUINED HIM! HE WON'T LEAVE HIS ROOM, HE WON'T EVEN TALK TO ME, HE JUST THROWS THINGS AT HIS DOOR WHEN I GO TO SEE HIM!" Wily's face was beet red with rage. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY PERFECT ROBOT?!"

"If he listens to Kelly Clarkson willingly, he's far from perfect." Blues smirked, running his tongue along his teeth to keep from laughing.

"Albert. Listen to me. Maybe Bass and Rock had a bad argument when they fought. He could be moody because of that."

"mooDY?! You tHINK HE'S BEEN _MOODY_?!"  
Wily let out a roar, "HE'S BEEN LIKE THIS FOR _WEEKS_! HE'S _IMPOSSIBLE_!"

"Albert, he's a teenager."

"HE'S A _ROBOT_."

Thomas sighed, and rubbed his worn temple. "He's a teenager. You created a child robot like I did, knowing it was the only way to truly make a worthy rival for Rock. His AI is evolving with him. He's a teenager by now."

"But…I _HATE_ TEENAGERS!" Wily whined loudly, dragging his hands down his face. "T-TELL ME YOU'RE JOKING, THOMAS…TELL ME IT'S NOT TRUE…."

Blues inhaled sharply to keep from sniggering.

"Oh he's a teenager alright. Trust me. I know. I hate them too."

Dr. Light glared at Blues.

"You're still one, you know."

"Yeah, but I like _good_ music. I never had a Kelly Clarkson phase."

"WHO IS THIS MISS CLARKSON WOMAN, ANYWAY?!" Wily spat, bristling. "I WILL NOT HAVE MY ROBOT, UH, INTERESTED, IN THE OPPOSITE SEX!"

Blues choked on his own spit. "Then you're in luck, ya old fart." He laughed under his breath.

"Albert, I don't know. But it's not important. Just tell us Bass is alright, and we'll leave you alone."

"WHY SHOULD I?!"

Blues had finally had enough of beating around the bush.

"BECAUSE MY BABY BROTHER IS WORRIED ABOUT YOUR SHITTY LITTLE FUCK OF A KID, AND I'M SICK AND TIRED OF LOOKING AT YOUR NASTY NUTSACK OF A FACE!"

Thomas's eyes widened, and he covered a very small smile with a wrinkled hand.

Wily stared dumbly at the screen like he'd been hit with a sock full of batteries.

"WHAT DO THEY WANT?!"

Bass's voice was muffled, but loud.

"I DON'T KNOW. COME OUT ALREADY."

There was a lot of slamming and banging noises, and soon the door was flung open, with a very red eyed Bass emerging from it.

He stomped up to the screen, Treble not far behind.

"The fuck do YOU want, Old Man?" He snarled, his entire body puffing up at the sight of Dr. Light, the man he was taught to hate unconditionally. Almost as much as he was to hate Rock.

Blues narrowed his eyes. One wrong move, and he'd personally grind Bass's ugly mug into the cement. He may have loathed his father, but he was still family. And no one, NO ONE messed with his family.

"I want to know, on Rock's behalf, how you're doing." Dr. Light spoke softly. He knew teenagers were very difficult to deal with, and being gentle was the only way to get them to hear you out.

 **[You Can't Take Me | Bryan Adams]**

"What?!" Bass's eyes widened. "What are you saying?!"

"We're saying that Rock's been worried fuckin sick about your stupid ass, you idiot." Blues glared through the dark shades. "He's been tearing himself up about hurting you back there. He wants to know if you're okay now. He…"

Blues paused, the words stuck in a jumbled mess on his tongue.

"He cares about you. A lot." For some reason, it was almost painful to say. Like he was giving something up. Giving _someone_ up.

If Rock…really did care about Bass…the way Blues thought he did…then did that mean he could lose his baby brother?

He furrowed his brow and turned away. He knew he had to do whatever made his little brother happy. No matter what it cost him.

Bass's eyes widened. And for the first time in two months, he felt his heart throb. Darkly, sickly. Fearfully. He wanted to pull away, step back from the screen.

Wily's voice was dull in his ears, no matter how loud it was. But it was enough.

" _CARE_ ABOUT HIM?! _HA_! MEGAMAN _HATES_ BASS! HE'S HIS _NEMESIS_! THEY'RE DESTINED TO FIGHT! _FOREVER_!"

Blues saw the fear clear as day in Bass's eyes as Wily turned to him, speaking softer. The boy trembled.

Blues' felt nothing less than sick to his stomach. He'd only seen dogs look at humans that way. Not another child.

"They're lying, Bass. Go back to your room. Megaman would never care about you. He's not worried about you, they're just trying to brainwash you, lie to–"

But the fear in Bass's eyes was gone. He shook not with terror, but rage.

Blues stepped back, for a minute not realizing they were many miles away from the scene in front of them. He knew that look. Knew it too damn well.

That was a look that broke the first law of robotics.

"YOU!" Bass shrieked, his voice breaking, red eyes flashing like lightning. His chest swelled and he glared wildly up at Wily. "YOU! _YOU'RE_ THE ONE LYING TO ME!"

Wily, clearly in shock, stepped back. Now his feet felt heavy and sunk deep into the feeling of quicksand.

" _Y-YOU!_ " A roar, so loud, that Treble cowered, and Bass's brothers poked their heads out of their rooms. " _YOU_ LIED TO ME! FOR _YEARS_! EVERY FUCKING DAY OF MY LIFE SINCE THE DAY I WAS _BORN!"_

Wily feebly grasped for the control panel behind him.

"B-Bass, wait, no, I haven't, you, you don't underst–"

Bass's eyes burned as hotly as the heart that pounded in his metal chest.

"I DON'T?! I _DIDN'T_. I DIDN'T UNTIL ROCK EXPLAINED EVERYTHING YOU, YOU KEPT FROM ME! YOU KEPT ME FROM MYSELF, YOU _!_ " There were oily tears streaming down the child's face, his voice already harsh and raspy from the strain of emotion.

Blues turned away, swallowing thickly. He closed his eyes, head down. He couldn't watch. He knew it too well. Knew every single word before it was said.

He couldn't let his father see him cry. But his glasses already had fogged up.

" _YOU_!" The scream gurgled in Bass's throat as he advanced on Wily. "GAVE ME _FREE WILL_! GAVE ME THE RIGHT TO _CHOOSE_! BUT YOU NEVER SAW IT FIT TO TELL ME! NEVER WANTED ME TO THINK I COULD BE MORE THAN WHAT _YOU_ _WANTED_!"

The buster was pulled up. Bass shuddered, the shiver going all the way down his arm, and the barrel trembled, pointed at his father.

"I am **more**. _I am so much more than you wanted_." He whispered. "I am _more_ than a robot. _More_ than some perfect creation. More than a _son_. I am my own. I am my _OWN_!" The child's arm tensed, and Blues snapped to attention with a cry, seeing the light form at the end of the buster.

"BASS, NO!" Blues begged, his glasses nearly falling. The oil in his eyes made everything into a dream like blur.

"And you'll see it. You'll see it, Wily. Because I'm going to take everything you kept from me. I'm taking it back. And I'm taking it to the one person on this godforsaken earth who cares about me. Cares enough to tell me the _truth_."

Wily was a mess of stammering apologies, excuses, eyes wide with horror as his creation was turning before his eyes. He scrabbled helplessly against the control panel behind him, cowering and covering his face with his arms to protect himself.

"You made me for Rock. You made me to hunt him down and kill him." Still Bass advanced on him, the buster glowing hotter with each slow step he took.

Light's eyes searched the screen, running back and forth, frantically trying to think of something to say, but–

"And whether you like it or not–I was created for Rock. To fight him, or…" He turned his face away, feeling his heart throb, swallowing thickly, "…otherwise." The boy's eyes locked back on to his father's.

"I'm going to prove myself. Prove myself to the only person who cares about me, to the only person I care about. I'm sick of you, sick of this charade you've played for all my life."

The buster was fully charged.

Wily was begging now, crumpled on the floor, arms out, shielding his face.

Thomas winced in agony, looking away. He could not stand to see his lifelong friend like this. But to act out, to yell, could be all it took for that gun to fire.

"I'm taking it all, Wily. I'm taking it, and I'm NEVER coming back. Do you hear me? You dedicated me to kill without reason. And now I'm dedicating myself to defy you, with every last step I take." He aimed.

" _ **I ! ! ! !"**_ The boy roared, feeling his throat tear more with each word.

Wily whimpered.

The buster swung around to the screen, just as Rock burst into the room, hearing the screaming.

There was a flicker in Bass's eyes. Only Blues caught it.

"I'm coming for you, Rock."

There was a loud booming noise, and the screen became static.

Dr Light fell to his knees, tears in his eyes.

"H-he…"

"He shot the monitor, old man. He won't kill his father." Blues was silent, his voice hoarse. "If I didn't, I know he won't either." He turned to leave.

Light's eyes widened from behind callused hands.

"Blues!" He looked up, but it was too late. The faintest hint of the yellow scarf had already disappeared.

Rock rushed to his father, and weakly fell into his arms, shuddering violently.

"It's alright, son. Bass…Bass just needs time. He just…" He inhaled shakily, remembering seeing Blues for the first time after he had left. He prayed, prayed Bass would not follow that same path. _"…needs time."_


	5. To You, I Will Always Return

**[I Will Always Return | Bryan Adams | Movie Version]**

Summer was dying.

But the storms still went on, and thunder crashed along the brambled hill Bass walked down, the lightning illuminating his face.

He'd leave this place. Never come back.

He'd find Rock, and he'd run away with him.

The thought alone, chased away the black heat in his chest, made the fire comforting, not painful. But it made him shake. With fear, uneasiness. Something unknown.

He'd run away with him, and they could be together. They'd make their own world. Without creators. Without any humans at all. Just them. Doing as they pleased. Forever.

That's what free will was, right?

Bass smirked to himself. Hell, the runt could bring that wimpy dog of his, too. Treble needed a new chew toy.

He blinked, shaking his head. No. No, that's what Wily wanted. Maybe…maybe Treble could play with Rock's dog.

Either way. It felt good. Felt good to be alone like this, free like this. Every slash the lightning cut through the black sky felt like his own claws, own teeth.

For months he sat in his room, with nothing but his tattered emotions to patch himself back up with. Nothing but the hope that Rock had been right. That there was more to life than what you were told.

And now he knew it was true. He'd go to Rock. He'd go to him, and tell him he had changed. He was his own, and no one else's. And if he had to take the world on all by himself, then–

"Bass! Bass! Wait, wait up!"

The boy jerked out of his thoughts, and turned to look at a few of his brothers who had ran after him after he had stormed out.

Treble was in the lead, with a bunch of crumpled papers in his mouth.

Elecman panted as he reached his little brother. Quickman simply smirked, not even winded. The smaller brothers like Cutman and Iceman took a little longer to catch up, gasping for air, hands on their knees as they finally made it to Bass.

"Bass!" Elecman's face was screwed up with emotion, noticeable even behind his mask. "Bass, wait–"

Bass, smiling at his brothers at first, turned bitter. "I'm not going back. I'll take you all on if you're going to try and–"

Elecman wheezed, still trying to catch his breath.

"No! We don't _want_ you to go back."

"You never belonged with guys like us, anyway. You deserve something better." Quickman folded his arms.

"We…we just want to…make sure you're okay, being on your own and all…" Cutman piped up.

"We worry about you. A lot more recently." Iceman said softly. "We wanna…"

"Make sure, you know that we'll always be here for you. We won't leave you. We…" Elecman looked ready to cry, but he glanced away instead.

"We can't leave Wily. But you _can_. And we want you to do your best. Don't make us look good, alright?" Quickman finished for him.

"Yeah! The only person you need to prove yourself to is…yourself!" Cutman squeaked passionately. "But…" He trailed off.

"It's also important…" Iceman mumbled, and Elecman picked up for him.

"That you know you can't always be alone. Being alone will…make things worse in the end." Elecman bent down to be on eye level with his little brother. Tentatively, for all the robot masters were barely learning how to show affection, after all these years, he took Bass's hands in his.

"We want you to be with Rock. He's a good…person. He wants to make sure everyone's happy. Wily only wants to make himself happy. Take care of Rock. Even if you can't escape the fact you're…made for him, you can at least…make that mean…what's most important to you." Elecman felt a twinge in his chest. Something he hadn't felt since Bass was young. He closed his eyes, and tried to save that feeling to his old memory banks.

Bass bit at his lip, fingers trembling in his brother's hands.

" _Elecman_ …"

"We won't ever give up on you. We'll always believe in you, Bass. You've always been here for us. Even when Wily ignored us, you were there. You listened." The older brother didn't pull his hands back, even when his eyes welled with oily tears. "You _listened_ , little brother."

Bass let out a gasp of surprise as he was swept into Elecman's arms, in a clumsy hug, which was soon joined by Cutman and Iceman wrapping themselves around his waist, both crying loudly. Quickman smiled, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Y-you g-guys–" Bass made a noise he was not proud of. A whimper. A pathetic, helpless, childish noise. Elecman felt warm against him, and he shook. He couldn't cry, he couldn't, he–

"It's okay, little brother. It's okay." Elecman was quiet, and patted his back as best he could with three other brothers hugging him.

Bass shuddered and let out another broken noise, a cracking sob, that racked his ribs.

Treble wound himself around Bass's legs, and boofed gently, papers still in his mouth.

The boy wept.

Soon, everyone was crying, even Treble, who let out a long muffled howl to drown out the wails of his master, howls to drown out the thunder that rumbled around them.

"H-haha, ah…" Elecman wiped at his eyes, and rubbed his nose, which was starting to get oily too. "I guess…I guess we're all more than…what Wily thought."

Bass was silent, his face scrunched up in a boyish pout.

"Come with me. You'll be my brothers, we'll travel all around the world and be the best robots we can be. You don't have to go back, you c-can, y-you can come with, m-me…" He hiccupped, leaning his forehead into Elecman's chest.

"Sorry, little one, but we can't. We can't repair ourselves without Wily's help. We'll be a burden to you." Quickman affectionately patted the back of Bass's head.

"But! I can…I can repair you…like I used to…" Bass squeezed shut his eyes, fighting off more hot tears that burned his cheeks.

"No, Bass." Cutman squeaked. "We can't."

"Think of it, like making the journey for us." Iceman whispered, his hand on his brother's hip, reassuring him.

"Y-yeah. Make us proud, little brother." Elecman found it nearly painful to pull himself away from the one thing he'd ever cared about. What they all cared about.

Bass had always been…a model of freedom for them. A dream come true. And each and every brother knew, programming or not, they would gladly lay down their life for this child.

"Moomf."

"Treble brought something for you, Bass." Elecman forced a smile on his quivering lips.

"W-what is it, boy?" He knelt down to take the crumpled notebook paper from his friend's mouth.

His eyes widened.

"Boof!"

"I forgot this?" It was the song he had been writing for Rock. To prove he could be better than him at anything.

He blinked, and smiled at Treble.

"I won't need these, boy. I know I don't have to fight him every step of the way now. I'm gonna be my best…without hurting him this time." He paused, and stood up, giving his brothers a hard look. "But don't think I'm soft now. I'm still cooler and better than him, I'm just not gonna beat the shit out of him to prove it."

Quickman laughed, and Elecman smiled. Cutman and Iceman nodded.

"Write us! If you get the chance!" Iceman and Cutman chimed in unison, holding each other's hand tightly.

"Yeah, just because you get to go on some soul searching journey, doesn't mean you get to forget us, Bass." Quickman winked.

"And…" Elecman began, softly. "Bass?" He looked shy. Bass furrowed his brow.

"When… _if_ …I understand, if you want to leave this all behind, but…if you _do_ come back…" Elecman downright blushed, "Can we go play in the summer storms like we used to, little brother?"

Bass felt his own cheeks burn. He swallowed and looked away when the others began to laugh and tease, much to Elecman's dismay.

"Of course. I'll always watch out for you. Even if you don't see me around, you're all still my brothers. If you need me…I'll be there."

Bass inhaled deeply, grabbing Elecman's hand in his.

"I won't give up on any of you. You listened to _me_ too. I'll always be your brother. No matter where or who I am. Got it?"

Starry eyed, Elecman nodded.

Bass pulled away, and turned to Treble.

"We got a long ways to walk. But I can do it myself this time. Let's go, boy. This has been a long time coming."

Treble boofed in solidarity. A Beast must go where his Master treads. It was part of his programming he would never deny.

"You…you all take care. Care of yourselves. Of Wily. Make sure he's alright. He doesn't understand anything now that he's grown up." Bass looked down, quiet. "I'll make you all proud. Me and Rock will make you proud to be robots. I promise."

Elecman nodded, and Cutman and Iceman huddled at his legs. Quickman folded his arms.

"Don't…don't rust while I'm away, or-or I'll, n-never forgive you!" Bass's voice cracked, not even two steps farther away, and Elecman was there in an instant, holding him tightly, lovingly, in his wiry arms.

"It's alright! Don't worry about us. We'll keep going. For you. For _you_ , little brother."

Bass's entire body flushed with heat at the feeling of a clumsy kiss on the top of his head.

"Please don't…fight the world too hard. Not everyone wants to take you on, Bass. We sure don't, and Rock doesn't either."

The boy pulled away, adamantly wiping his nose on his arm. He sniffed.

"I'll be fine. Keep all that mushy stuff for when I get back, you dorks."

Cutman giggled, and Iceman's face warmed. Quickman scoffed.

Treble tugged on Bass's arm.

"Alright. I hate long goodbyes. I'm leaving, but I'll let you know…what happens." He turned back to face the brambled path.

"Bass." Quickman's voice was deep and urgent.

Bass's eyes followed the sound, but he did not turn around.

"You're still young. Still a kid. Wily forced an adult's pain on you to make it feel like you were grown up. You're not. Don't pretend to be, and don't act like you are. Be a kid. Grow up in your own time, do you understand? You've suffered enough. Be good to yourself now that you can."

Bass nodded solemnly.

"I promise. I'll make my own childhood. The one I never got. The one you all never got. I'll make the best one. For all of you." He smirked, and let out a little laugh. "Besides, Rock's the biggest baby I know. If anyone knows how to be a kid, it's him."

Quickman gave a single nod.

"Do your best."

"Say hi to Rock for us!"

"Yeah! And don't forget to write!"

"And take care of Treble too."

Bass's footsteps were all that was left of him in the dusty road before the brothers.

Elecman fell into Quickman's arms, weeping bitterly.

"I feel like, I've lost something I'll never get back." He sobbed quietly.

Quickman put his cheek to his brother's. "Bass always came back for us. That hasn't changed. He isn't going to leave forever."

"Of course not!" Cutman chirped. "He'll be in our hearts, no matter where he goes!"

Iceman nodded, and Elecman let out a hiccup, laughing pathetically against Quickman.

"Y-yeah….I guess he…will always be in…our hearts."

Freedom was a heavy burden to bear.


	6. Love Comes From

**[All The Way | Lights & Motion]**

Roll sat with Rock for a long time before getting up from where he sat, huddled up in his favorite blanket and stuffed animal Rush she had made him, all in the corner of the couch.

The Rush plush had seen better days, but Rock was still the only one to wash it once a month, and even when he did, he stood solemnly in front of the washing machine, then dryer, until Little Rush was done.

Rinse and repeat, once a month.

"I need to make Dad lunch now, okay? I'll just be over here, in the kitchen."

Rock made a tiny noise in his throat, and pressed Little Rush closer to his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut against the worn material. Actual Rush lay on the arm of the sofa, nose nestled between his paws. It had been hours of just being next to Rock.

Dr. Light had been called to an emergency at the laboratory, and couldn't be there for Rock. And since the incident with the call, no one had seen Blues either. Rock figured he was gone for good, now that he did what he said he would.

The plush was positively grimy from tears now, and Rock was worried it was too much. Of course this made him cry more. His eyes felt raw and painful, and he had to sit in the living room with the lights off to keep them from hurting too much.

"Rock? Oh, it's alright! Here, lemme see Little Rush real quick. I'll fix him up."

Roll was back at the sound of another broken hiccup from her brother's weary chest. It was difficult, but eventually she was able to gently wrest the stuffed animal from him. She padded to the sink, and bent down for some of the cleaning materials in the cabinet below. Soon enough, Little Rush was…less of a mess. She wrapped a soft dishcloth around the doll.

"Here. If you cry on him now, he has his own little blanket to keep him clean, okay? I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

Rock nodded, and accepted his stuffed animal back quietly, then jolted with surprise as Roll pushed her face into his, affectionately rubbing her cheeks on him.

Roll hated getting dirty, and Rock was nothing but less than a wreck.

"It's gonna be okay, Rock, I promise. Bass is okay, he's just…upset, he needs a little time alone to think…y'know how…Blues is sometimes." She regretted it the moment she said it. But it was what she felt in her heart.

Rock pulled away from the warmth, barely able to keep his eyes open, but his mouth still worked.

"No! I don't _want_ another Blues! I _hate_ him!"

"No, you don't hate him. You hate some of the things he _does_." Roll knelt down on the couch, resigning herself to the fate of never making that damn lunch. She lovingly brushed her brother's dirty hair from his eyes.

"I hate _all_ of him."

"He thought he hated you once, too." Roll murmured, still habitually smoothing out his hair.

"Yeah, and he still does."

"Mm-mm." Roll shook her head gently. "He just has a lot of trouble with his emotions. Bass does too. But that doesn't mean Bass will be just like Blues. You gave him a second chance. I don't think he'll take that lightly."

Rock turned away, pouting.

"Bass said he's going to come to you. You should be patient and give him time, I'm sure it'll all–"

"Work out?" Rock grit his teeth. "You always say that. But Blues never stays, Wily always comes back, Dad–"

"Stop. Be quiet." Roll was soft, but firm. Her nails dug into her palms. "I say it because it's true. If we hope for the best, and it doesn't come, we still have hope, and we can still work through the terrible to get to the good. There's _always_ good in the end. And…"

Rock scowled at his now giggling sister.

"You sometimes find it in the strangest places." She poked a finger where his heart lay. "Bass has _Kokoro_ , too. I can tell. And that means he has good right here, too." She pulled her hand back to put it with the other on her hip. Her chest puffed up, "Besides, if he shows up and he's still rotten, I'll beat him with the broom 'till he's nice."

Rock giggled a little. Roll smiled, her eyes glowing warmly.

"Just believe in him. Like you did before. He'll come through. He won't be like Blues. He'll be like _you_ , remember?"

Rock's weary eyes widened, fingers loose on Little Rush.

 _Like me?_


	7. Lost Together

**[Above and Beyond | Audiomachine]**

For hours, Bass and Treble walked, the boy's footsteps becoming more hesitant the farther they went. Treble whined.

Smiling, the boy shook his head, slowing to a stop.

"I was so angry, back there. Furious, actually. I don't think I've been that mad in all my life, but…"

"Snoof?"

"Yeah," Bass chuckled, "I guess I did walk it off. Maybe it was that place. Maybe it messed with my head." He paused, blinking at a prickling feeling behind his eyes. Treble hadn't complained the entire walk. Hadn't made one noise until now. He knew he wasn't going back. Knew that he was leaving the only place he'd ever known.

"Hey, Treble…?" The wolf looked up, then followed Bass as the boy knelt down, hands out, palms up. "C'mere, boy."

Gently, his best friend nuzzled into his arms, his soft fur collecting the child's tears like dew drops. Bass wept very quietly for a few minutes, burying his messy sniffling and coughing into his pet's thick mane.

"Th-thank you." Bass settled, sitting down on the dusty road now. "For coming with me. When you didn't have to. My brothers were right. I couldn't do this without someone. Without you, boy."

Treble's lips pulled back in a wide grin, his tongue lolling. He panted, and then began to lick away Bass's tears, muzzling deep into his arms, making him laugh, until he was pushed down to the ground, covered in dog kisses.

Treble settled above the boy, laying his forelegs across the boy's chest, and resting his chin between his paws.

Bass breathed deeply, closing his eyes and focusing on Treble's steady pulsing. He and the wolf had been made from the same materials. Both had the same systems that contained a gentle pulsing mechanic as energy flowed through them. It was the closest thing they had to a heartbeat, and they treated it as such.

They were quiet together for a long time, amongst the distant lowing of cows from old farms across timeless fields, the storm clouds thinning as the birds began to chirp a final nightsong.

Bass cracked open an eye to watch some fireflies lazily float about, glowing in the tall wheat behind the rotten wood fence along the dirt road they'd been traveling.

He'd only been around machines, pavement, electricity, loud noises and city lights all his life. There was something deeply peaceful about being in a place dead to those things.

He was exhausted from his earlier outburst. Maybe he could simply sleep under the stars with Treble, like they used to when they were little. Bass yawned, and his pet let out a wolf sized sigh.

"Good boy. Good boy." He mumbled, fingers running though his best friend's fur. "Good…mmm….boy…." He found yawning too much work, and turned his head, pressing his cheek to his shoulder, unable to fight what his body desperately needed – rest.

As he slept, for it was a deep sleep, a needful sleep, Treble got up, and carefully dragged him to an old sakura tree away from the road, letting him rest beneath it. The wolf paced three times around the tree, sniffing in a circle until finally coming back to Bass, and curling around him, making sure to prop his head up on a spare foreleg.

Treble licked lazily at the boy, his tail patting the thick summer grass rhythmically. His eyes drooped, then closed. The bushy tail wrapped securely around his beloved Master, protecting him from all harm, as far the wolf was concerned.

Bass appeared to sleep peacefully, but he relived painful memories, most vividly of meeting Treble for the first time.

The wolf had been vicious and uncontrollable when he was first activated, attacking all who came near without mercy.

Wily told Bass that if he wanted a companion, he had to earn it through pain. And he had.

Bass never once raised a hand the moment he stepped into the large, cold metal cage that Treble had been confined to. He had to prove to the beast that he wasn't superior in strength, but durability. Besides. Bass knew he didn't want some weak, pathetic animal that cowered in fear any time he raised his voice at it.

So he had stood there, eyes shut, arms taught at his sides, as Treble mauled him, fangs flashing, crashing, into his skin. Claws that rent his flesh like blades. The snarling, snapping, growling, yowling, howling in his ears as his body burned and bled.

How he cried. How he cried and knelt down, after what seemed to be an eternity in this cage. How he put his hands out, palms up, his body shaking under the weight of pain, of loneliness.

How the noises stopped, how the gnashing teeth and slashing claws stopped. How there was silence. Silence in the dripping oil that oozed from every wound he had, spurting from the one in his chest, where the claws and teeth had dug deep enough to rip out wires close to his heart.

Then the whimpering. Snuffling. Whining, whining, howling, and a tongue, long and thick and wet, across his face, making him shudder, the licking, licking-licking, whining, whining-whining,

He pace-pace, paced, in circle-circle circles, round round, all the way around the bleeding boy, until he settle-settle, settled,

Head in his lap, moofing forlornly, licking under the chin, at the lips, twisting his head back to look up, up, at him, at the Master, the Good Master,

Closed his eyes as the hands came down, down, down around, buried thick in his mane, pet-pet, petting, behind the ears, along the neck, rub-rub, rubbing the bridge of his nose until

Hot on the leather, look up, Master's eyes are leaking, he is leaking all over, and You Must Fix That, so you lick, lick, lick, till he smiles like you do,

You lick, lick, lick, until he

Bass woke with a start to the sensation of Treble slobbering lovingly all over the side of his head. He grunted and groaned, weakly fending him off. He felt stiff and disoriented.

The sky was very dark now, not as dark as a winter sky, but still liquid black, dotted with the pinpricks of a place Bass always dreamed of seeing.

"Smoofle." Treble mentioned casually.

"Yeah, we should get going. I told Rock I was coming for him, and I don't plan on going back on that promise."

"Moofle." The wolf hinted slyly.

"No! God, you shithead! It's not a date, and I'm not gonna be late to it, either–wAIT THATS NOT WHAT I MEANT, GODDAMN IT!"

But Treble had already thrown back his head, making a strange noise that could only be considered wolf laughter.

Bass stopped, a cold chill rushing through him, suddenly aware he was being watched.

"Show yourself! I'll have Treble sniff you out and then I'll beat you to a pulp myself!" He declared hotly.

"Christ, you two are loud." Thick rust made the mystery voice husky. "You'll wake half the neighborhood if you keep it up."

A pause, and a lone cow mooed in the distance.

"Well, alright, not much of an audience, but still."

Bass shot to his feet, and Treble snarled and snapped, bristling his mane up to full spikes as a figure dropped down from the tree they had slept beneath.

"I can't help but take every dramatic entrance I can get. You only live once, kid." Dark sunglasses shone like black ice in the starlight. The yellow scarf around his neck was silver in the moonlight.

" _Blues?!"_

"You all seem so surprised, like it isn't somehow obvious it's me _every single fucking time_." Blues scoffed, flicking the side of his shades.

"What are you doing here?! Are you gonna fight me?! Over Rock?!" Bass puffed up his chest and tensed, Treble growled in agreement.

"Oh _hell_ no." Blues gave him a dead eyed stare. "I am NOT going to throw down with you, it'd be a waste of my time. I'm gonna talk to you, which is probably _more_ of a waste of time, but it's a necessary evil I have to endure."

Bass just snarled, showing off his teeth.

"Definitely a waste of my time, make this easy on me and don't say anything, I don't want you to hurt yourself thinking too much, anyway."

"Shut up and fight me then!" Bass lifted his buster and began to charge it. "I'll take you on any day!"

"Oh my God, stop being stupid, you fuck. Shut up, sit down and listen to me. I want to tell you about Rock." Blues groaned, running a hand through his thick auburn hair.

"Wh-what?" The light at the end of the buster fizzled out pathetically. "A…About Rock?"

Treble whined in confusion, imitating his boy.

"Yeah, y'know since he's my little brother and even robots have to have this talk I guess. God _damn_ am I glad I wasn't given the ability to fall in love like you fools can."

Bass stiffened, half of him wanting to jump Blues and pummel him to the ground, the other half frantically trying to come to terms with what falling in love meant.

"I'm gonna do the world a favor and skip to the meat an' potatoes of this mess, got it, kid?"

Bass just stared dumbly at him. Falling in love? Was that what had happened in the two months he had wallowed in self-hatred and confusion? If that was the case, falling in love _sucked_.

"Okay. Cool, keep that expression up, looks good on you." Blues smirked, then took a deep breath. "Listen. You and Rock got somethin.' Fuck knows what it is, fuck knows all that went through your stupid kid heads when you fought, but it changed you both. Better or worse, I still don't know. But I think Rock's right. You both…"

Blues folded his arms sloppily, trying not to seem like he was losing his nerve.

"… _care_ about each other. It's just now you care about not _killing_ each other. Right? You can nod if words are too much for your stupid ass."

"Fuck you, but yeah." Bass pouted.

"Cool. Neat. Great. Anyway, you're comin' after my baby brother, and as older brother, I need to get it into your thick fuckin' skull that you so much sneeze on him, and I'll rearrange you so bad you'll look like a nuked toaster. Got it?" Blues bristled, his shades flashing in the moonlight.

"Who said I was gonna hurt him? You were _there_ , shithead! You saw what I said!" Bass spat, stomping a foot forward, his fists clenched.

" _Heard_ , but yes, I did." Blues said calmly. "But I want you to know, I'll be watching. I never wanted him to find someone. To care about someone like he does you. But he's willing to do anything for you, and I'm willing to do anything for him. So by default…"

Blues grumbled a few swears before continuing.

"I have to actually give a shit about you now."

" _E-eh?!"_ Bass managed, and Treble yapped in alarm.

"Fuck off. Just be good to him. Be gentle with him. You're both kids, and you're gonna be clumsy. But listen to him, and let him show you how to be a kid. Don't fuckin' be the bull in the china shop. You don't have a fuckin' time limit."

"W-what are you saying?" Bass swallowed drily, his knees feeling a lot less like metal and more like jelly.

"I'm saying, I want you to be friends. I want you to be happy together. But…" Blues looked away, his shades barely masking the painful expression on his face, "If you want more, than that…I can't stop you. I don't believe in fate or any of that bullshit, but…"

"I know." Bass said quietly, quietly enough to jolt Blues from his dim thoughts. "It's uncanny." He kept a little smile to himself.

"No shit, Sherlock." Blues said softly.

"I just…I don't know how I feel about Rock. I know he's good, a good person. He means well for everyone. He's the best he can be at what he does. And I was the best at being–"

"A big fuckin' bag of salty dicks."

"Yeah." Bass grinned. "I was. But if Rock's the best at being good, and I'm not bad anymore…then what can I be the best at?"

Blues was silent. The pulsing of the boys' systems was faint in the dying heat of the summer night.

"You be the best friend you can be. You listen, you learn, you be gentle." But before Bass could respond, Blues continued.

"It is going to be the hardest thing in the world for you. I know, because it's the one thing I can't do myself. Be good to Rock. And I know he'll love you with all his heart. He already does, the little fuckin shit." Blues smiled, cursing the one oily tear that escaped the protection his shades gave him.

"H-he–" Bass shuddered, shivered in the warmth of the night.

"Love comes in a lot of different ways, kid. You'll learn that, too. Caring about someone, wanting them happy, making sure to be there for them…that's love. It's not just kissing and fucking and screaming, like in the movies. There's softer loves, loves that sometimes I think _I_ can feel sometimes."

Blues trailed off, lost in the faint throbs that he felt earlier that day.

Bass stared dumbly once more, a thickness in his throat that felt close to suffocating.

"There's more than one way to love?"

"Yeah."

"How many?"

"Oh fucking hell, I don't know. People argue four. But there's a million if you ask me. I've seen it all. Behind windows, in the streets."

"Can I do all of them at once? Can I be the best at all of–"

"Okay, I know it's part of your inane little brain that you gotta be the best at whatever, but you are _not_ gonna be good at love. _No one_ is. Its _clumsy_ and _messy_ and it can be _ugly_. But when it works, when two people are willing to…to be with each other, even when it's clumsy, messy, ugly. Then it's _beautiful_. Understand?" Blues sighed hotly. He wanted to leave. The country was too quiet for his head. He needed the roar of the city to drown out his thoughts.

"No."

"Awesome." Blues groaned. "You'll learn. Rock'll teach you."

"Fine. But…" Bass blinked. "Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Uh…you're…you're good at music, right?"

"Are you fucking kidding me right now."

"Shut up. So uh, I uh, wrote a song, and I was gonna, like, yell it, at Rock, but it…it's not good enough. I…I need something better. You're like, his fuckin' brother, so like…what music does he, y'know…like?"

For the first time in what seemed like a small eternity, Blues grinned wildly.

"Ever heard of Rick Astley?"


	8. Hold It Tight

**[You'll Be In My Heart | Phil Collins]**

"Come on! We used to do this all the time when we were little." Roll pushed a protesting Rock into the bathroom, a bright look on her face.

"Yeah, when we were _little_." Rock pouted, "We're not little anymore." He hopped up on the sink and sulked.

Roll giggled, and went to start the bath. "I don't remember you getting any taller over the years. So yeah, we're still little."

Rock scowled more.

"You are being such a baby about this. You should know better than all of us that change doesn't come peacefully."

"A _baby?!_ " Rock snapped, "Bass almost killed Wily! You want me to be _calm_ about _that?!"_

Roll was quiet. The sound of the bathwater filling the tub was almost deafening in comparison.

"You almost did, too." She looked away, eyes clouded.

Rock blinked, taken aback.

She was right. He hadn't seen all of what happened, but he once was in the same position Bass had been in. Buster pointed at a cowering Wily. Declaring, screaming, he was more than a machine, more than a robot.

He looked down in shame. He and Bass really weren't all that different.

"Either way, it's all in the past now." Roll said softly, pouring in bubblebath. "We shouldn't dwell on it. We need to focus on what's going to happen next."

"But we don't–" Rock slumped, sighing dejectedly. The waiting was the hardest part.

"Know, I know." Roll huffed, and folded her arms, pulling her knees up once shed settled on top of the toilet. "But…come what may, you need to be in better shape. I don't think Bass wants to fight you anymore. But you can't go see him like you are now."

"I'm _fine_!" Rock shot back, puffing up. He could take on whatever Bass had in store for him. He didn't feel like laying down to him anymore. No matter how tired he was.

"Covered in tears and drool?" Roll laughed, "Yeah right. Bass wants a nice looking Rock, I just know it." She winked.

" _E-eh?!"_ Rock gurgled, his cheeks prickling. "C-c'mon! It's not like that. I just want to make sure he's alright."

"Mhm." Roll shrugged smugly, and put a toe in the water to test the temperature. "Alright, get in. Don't make me do it like Blues did, and throw you in." She snickered.

"Fine. But I'm doing it for me, not Bass."

His sister rolled her eyes and stood up to pull off her dress. Rock blinked, and looked away for a minute. Sometimes he forgot how many times they'd done this when they were younger. Did their AI really age?

Roll neatly put the rest of her clothes into the hamper and plopped into the bath.

"Don't be that way! Get over it. You've seen me like this a thousand times, you dork."

Rock made a face and tugged his clothes off as well before sitting down in the water and continuing his brooding session from where he left off. It lasted all of two seconds before Roll was on him, splashing him and tickling him, trying to dunk him under the water.

Dr. Light had a large traditional wooden tub – why bathe the kids separately when you could throw them all in one bucket?

Rock gave in quickly and fought back, but Roll still came out on top. She pawed her nose and sneezed, having gotten water up it. Her face and hair were covered in bubblebath, making her brother laugh.

"Now that you're done being a big fat baby about everything, let's get you cleaned up."

Rock made a feeble noise of protest, but didn't resist being pulled in close so Roll could shampoo his hair. Soon he had his eyes closed, and cheek to her shoulder, breathing slowly as she massaged the soap into his messy hair.

"Shh, it's alright. Everything will be just fine, okay?" Roll murmured gently, rubbing her thumbs behind his ears. He made a soft noise in reply. "You'll feel a lot better after this. We'll get you a nice warm e-tank and you can put on your puppy pj's. They'll be out of the dryer by the time we're done, okay?"

Rock nodded silently, dozing off as Roll poured water down his head to rinse the soap out.

"If you fall asleep, I'll dunk you again. Turn around so I can wash the rest of you." Roll teased, threading her fingers through his hair with conditioner.

Rock complied sleepily, his cheeks warming along with the rest of his body as Roll scrubbed him down. Ever since they had been really little, Roll had done this. She always insisted on mothering him, and finding all the little things that made him happy. And he knew it made her happy to care for things. Him included.

"We haven't done this in a long time, have we? I kinda forget sometimes..." Roll felt herself blush, wondering how long they would still feel like kids. Would they have to get new bodies if they grew up too much? She paused, holding one of Rock's legs up to get the bottom his foot.

Rock was fast asleep, however, and slid right back, crashing into the water. He yelped, now very much awake, and floundered pathetically while Roll laughed.

No, they'd always be kids. And that's how she liked it.

"God, you're a klutz." She giggled, helping him back up. "I don't blame you being sleepy. Dad said you'd probably sleep a lot when things calmed down. From all the stress and stuff."

"Mm." Rock already felt exhausted.

"Turn around, I'm gonna get your back."

Roll watched as Rock nodded off again. Once more, she paused, looking at his face. The girl bit her lip, brow furrowed, eyes misty. It was hard, seeing him like this.

She wished she could provide the things he wanted, deep down, things he denied and pushed away adamantly. But she knew it wouldn't be right.

They'd been raised as human siblings would have been. If things had been different, maybe. But this was how they would always be now. And she had to take care of what she knew she could.

Rock twitched, and huffed, and Roll smiled. He really _was_ falling asleep. She quickly finished rinsing the conditioner from his hair, and shook him gently.

"C'mon. Let's go get you in bed. I'll have Rush cuddle with you while I make Dad lunch, okay?" She murmured softly in his ear.

Rock made a muffled noise and turned, eyes still droopy as his entire body relaxed. Roll stiffened as he cuddled up into her arms.

 _Ah_ –this was, she swallowed nervously, then scowled at herself. Bass would be here for him when he needed the kind of affection she could not give without shame. He'd…

She puffed with laughter, and hugged Rock back, nuzzling her nose to his neck. Her brother made another mumbling noise, and at the feeling of drool on her shoulder, she jerked away with a gasp of disgust.

"Ew! Alright, alright, up, up! Let's get you dry and put in bed before you get even grosser."

Yep, still her brother.

Rock locked his knees as Roll toweled him off, his head bobbing rhythmically as he began to nod off again.

"Don't make me carry you. You know I'll do it." Roll teased. But when Rock on made a weak huff in reply, his sister pitied him.

"Alright, c'mere. But don't expect me to put your pajamas on for you, too."

Once Rock had been safely plopped on the bed and drowsily pulled on his pjs, Roll sat down beside him and petted him for a while.

"You just rest. We'll take care of it all from now on, okay? Worry about Bass when he gets here." She bent down, and pressed her forehead to his cheek. "We love you all so much, Rock. But, haha," she giggled, and gave him a tender kiss, "I think I love you the most."

Rock smiled, but didn't move. He was too tired.

"Mm. Okay, now get some sleep. I'll be back before dinner to see if you need anything, alright?"

Rock nodded.

"Sweet dreams. We'll be right here if you need us."

By the time Roll ushered Rush in to sleep with his boy, he was already fast asleep, a look of peace on his face.


	9. I Bet My Life

**[I Bet My Life | Imagine Dragons]**

"Mm."

"Rock, c'mon. Wake up. Blues is calling."

"Mm-mm. He sucks."

"Yeah, but he's still calling. I'm picking up."

"Not gonna talk to him."

"That's fine. I will."

Roll and Rock were snuggled together in Rock's bed, with Rush lounging in the space between their legs, like a cat.

Rock pulled the covers over his head in defiance as Blue's face showed up on the screen. He'd rather suffer the stuffy heat than look at him.

"Yo." Blues flicked his shades and grinned.

"Where ARE you?" Roll squinted. A dusty orange light illuminated her older brother.

"Oh? What? Uh, fuck, um…" His face blurred as he moved the arm that the camera was attached to around. It settled on him again. "Haha, take a look." The colors whirled before focusing on some large cows mooing to themselves as they munched with boredom on their stale hay.

"a BARN?!" Roll yelped. GROSS! Full of dirt, and dust, and…POOP! She cringed. She could almost SMELL it.

"Yeah, and they're cool. I named them. That one's Blacky, that one's Whitey, and that one's–"

"Brownie?"

"No, that's Madame BigTits."

Roll gave him a look.

"She must've had a baby or somethin', her tits are just HU–"

"OKAY! Okay, good, I'm glad Madame…whatever is a mother. Why the heck are you calling us from a barn at midnight?"

Blues grinned.

"I found him."

Rock stirred, his curiosity an ever growing itch now.

"Found him? Who? Bass?"

Blues' grin got bigger, and he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Look at this shit."

He angled his arm so the camera rest on an unusual pair, snuggled up in the thick straw bedding of an empty cow stall.

 _Bass! Treble!_

Roll gasped, and sat up, turning to shake Rock.

"Hey! Blues found them! He found Bass and Treble!"

Rock shot up, the cool air hitting his face, but it did not give him the same relief as his heart did, seeing the two curled up together, fast asleep. Safe. _Okay_.

"I knew that'd get you up. Anyway, we're havin' a little…sleepover. We partied too hard, and now he's all passed out. How's everything on your end? How's Beats?" Blues settled down in the loft he lay in, his arm in front of him, showing only his shades down to his lazy smile.

Roll smiled back. "Beats is fine. He was playing with Rush earlier. I fixed up his ruddering mechanics. He was having trouble landing a couple days back, but he's fine now."

"I always knew that bird was a pain in the butt." He joked, sniggering as Roll groaned at the pun. "Good to know he's okay. I'll pick him up soon. I'll be in the area for a while, I guess."

Rock jerked forward. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

"You're…are you saying…" Roll's eyes widened.

Rock felt the words too bitter to leave his mouth.

"I'm not staying." Blues said softly. Roll could see his eyes were gentle behind the dark glasses. She sighed, slumping.  
Rush whined.

Rock glowered. He knew it. Every time Blues was "in the area" it only meant he'd show up for a few days. But then he'd disappear again.

"But I _am_ coming home." He blinked slowly, like a cat. It was obvious he was emotionally exhausted. Physically, too.

Rock's heart skipped a beat. Roll's swelled with hope.

"I've been real shitty lately. I've only shown my ugly mug when I thought you needed me. When you were beat up, or miserable. But I know that being away makes you feel worse. I've always known it. And I'm sorry."

Roll nodded, feeling Rock's fingers slip between hers.

"Sorry doesn't cut it. No apology will. But…" Blues heaved a weary sigh. "Sometimes it's hard to know when I'm needed. But I know I am now." He paused. "Roll's always been right. No change comes around easy. No change comes without despair, without hope. And I've been on the despair end of this bullshit seesaw of life."

Rock smiled to himself.

"I met someone today that…that's really turned things on their head for me. And Christ, does he snore."

Rock looked away furtively, and Roll nudged him with her elbow, smiling.

"Anyway, look. You know how I try to be dramatic and poetic all the time. That's how I do. But…it's not time for drama and poetry. It's time for the straight shit."

Roll instinctively squeezed shut her eyes as Blues pulled down his shades. Rock bravely stared him down.

"Kid." A pause. " _Rock_. Listen to me. There's nothing I can say to make up for leaving you both. For not being always around. For being a downright fuckup of a brother."

Rock nodded once.

"But I'm going to make it up to you. I'm not going to let something like this…happen without me. I just want you happy. And I…"

Blues closed his tired eyes.

"I don't know what I'm trying to say. Nothing feels like it has any weight anymore."

"It's okay."

"I…wanna be part of you again. Part of your life again. Wanna be your big brother like, I need to be. But I…" The eyes Roll could not bear to look at blinked open. "I'm… _scared_ , Rock. It's a selfish fear, God knows that's the only emotion I have left nowadays."

"Don't be scared." Rock gave him a tired smile. "Don't be scared," He repeated, "You always worry so much about needing to be here for us, that you don't realize that we're here for you too."

Blues' eyes widened. It was a simple fact, but one he had never once in his life considered.

"And I'm sorry too. I don't know how you feel all the time. I've never been what you've been through, and it's selfish of me to expect you to just do what I want." Rock smiled warmly as Roll made her way into his lap, eyes still closed. She shivered a little.

Blues grinned.

"It feels good, doesn't it? Saying you're sorry. It's the pride that hurts you more in the end. And…fuck man, I'm the most stuck up son of a bitch I know."

Rock laughed under his breath, running his hands up and down Roll's back until she relaxed.

"Anyway, look." Blues slid his shades back on. "I…I'm gonna ask for your patience one more time, bro. This ain't easy for me."

"I know, Blues."

His brother smirked.

"But I trust you. I trust you more than I trust myself."

Rock gave Roll's shoulder a squeeze, and she cautiously opened her eyes again.

"I don't know how long I can stay, but…just…don't tell Dad. I can't…can't with him right now. Maybe another day. When some other catastrophic event happens." He sneered. "Not every day you see a real life Romeo and Juliet play out, only with robots, huh?"

"Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou a fucking _prick_." Roll mused, arms folded, eyes half lidded and completely unamused. "Let Rock figure it out with Bass in his own time."

"I'm…right here, Roll."

"Yeah, well! I'm his big bro. I gotta do the big bro thing and get on his case about future boyfriends. It's in the Big Bro Handbook For Big Bros."

"And I'm gonna open a fresh can of whoopass on you if you keep this up." Roll retorted, Rock squirming under her.

"I'm still right here you guys!"

"Oh, I'd like to see you try, sis!" Blues grinned, and Roll hopped up, grabbing the remote for the monitor.

"That's it! We'll settle this when you get back! And YOU'RE fixing any doors you bust up from now on!"

"GUYS! I'M _RIGHT HERE_!" Rock hollered.

Both his siblings stopped arguing and turned to look at him, embarrassed.

"Keep an eye out for me, kid. Get some sleep. And don't worry, I told Madame BigTits all about you. She loved you. Mooed a whole ton."

Rock rolled his eyes, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

Blues was silent for a while, breathing shakily from exhaustion.

"Rock."

"Mm."

"I love you. And I love you too, Roll. More than anything. Just wait for me. Wait for me, alright? I kept my promise. Said I'd bring him home. We can figure it all out som'more tomorrow, aight?" His words began to slur, head nodding slightly.

"God, you dork." Rolls felt herself warm at her older brother's words. "Go sleep. But I am not letting you into the house smelling like a Madame BigTit. I'll hose you off first if I gotta."

She got a lopsided grin in response.

"…I love you, too, Blues. I always will, no matter what changes around us. I've always loved you. Always will." Rock wanted to reach out, feel his brother's soft cheek on his fingers.

He missed the nights long ago where he could safely tuck himself away in Blues' arms. Blues' did too. But he couldn't admit it now, only when they were like that once more. He prayed they'd get one last night like that, before things…changed too much.

Or maybe they wouldn't change at all. _They_ would change; and the world would blissfully spin on in a gentle ignorance.

"Yeah…I'll…I'll…Rock…"

"You'll SLEEP, you asshole." Roll yawned, and stretched.

"Yeah…." Blues closed his eyes, fingers fumbling to turn off the camera.

"…I…mm….I….love…I…I love…"

 _Static_.

Rock was just conscious enough to keep the smile on his face, so Roll helped him back under the covers, tucking him in. Rush wriggled his way under one of his boy's arms, snuggling close to him.

"I wasn't kidding when I told you…love comes from the strangest places." She lay her hand over his heart as she leaned down to kiss his temple. "But sometimes…the strongest love…comes from…those places, too."

She brushed the soft hair from his kind face before straightening up and padding to the door, closing it quietly behind her.

At the barn, Bass stirred. His eyes snapped open at the pounding in his chest.

It was time.


	10. Homecoming

**[Homecoming | Audiomachine]**

It was a strange feeling, removing his helmet, his pauldrons, arm guards…stranger seeing them in a pile of straw. But the boy knew, where he was going, he would not need them.

Bass made sure to be quiet as he left, smiling at the cows that had kept him and Blues company, before carefully opening the door to leave.

He'd really never seen domestic animals before. They smelled weird, but they were nice. Bass liked how their tongues felt on his hands when he followed Blues up to pet them when they first arrived.

 _Blues…_

His first steps out the door were shaky, but with Treble's help, he found his footing down the dark dusty path ahead.

"We'll take it all the way back home, alright?" Blues had pointed out earlier.

Home? It was strange, thinking there could be more than one.

As his boots crunched along what was now gravel, he thought back.

"Hey, kid. You're tired. You can't show up to my brother's and just pass out on him. Talk about bad…well, this wouldn't be a first impression. More like a re-do I guess." Laughter.

They had waded through the small ocean of wheat, fireflies darting and swimming about their chests, before coming across the ancient looking barn.

"Nah, it's alright. Really. Farmers don't check on their cows at night. None of them look ready to pop anyway." Blues peeked in the door before striding in.

"Pop?" Bass remembered the horror of imagining a cow popping like a balloon.

"They aren't pregnant."

"Pregnant?"

Blues had made a face clearly visible behind his shades, even at night.

"Oh sweet fuck….uh, they…aren't about to have babies."

"Oh. I forgot they could do that."

"No fuckin' kiddin.'"

The orange light of the barn framed Blues in a warm, dusty glow as he shuffled about, looking for a place for them to bed down for the night.

Bass watched silently as the older boy tested an old wooden ladder that led to the loft. He wondered why he didn't stay with his siblings. He was…good, like Rock, wasn't he?

He never liked remembering the story of "Protoman" that Wily told him. It made his chest hurt, his throat knot. Knowing Wily, it was probably all a lie anyway.

He hoped Blues had a happier story than what he had been told. Maybe he just liked traveling a lot.

"This looks good enough for me. I'll hang out in the loft, and you can take the empty stall down there with your weird dog." Blues teased, leaning suavely against the ladder.

Bass felt a spark of anger followed by a strange rush of warmth to his cheeks. He hated that feeling. Who did this asshole think he was, anyway? Sure, he _looked_ cool, but…he shook his head. Whatever. He was still cooler. He'd always be the coolest.

That's what his brothers told him, anyway.

They sat in their makeshift "beds" and talked for over an hour. Blues about the places he'd seen, Bass about his brothers. By the time the boy began to nod off, he was smiling at the sound of the other's voice.

Maybe…maybe Elecman was right. Maybe the whole world…didn't want to fight him all the time.

"Hey, Bass. One last thing."

"Mm." Bass was already snuggled up to Treble, hugging him tightly to his chest.

"I…I want you to…" A pause, "Heh, I can't imagine you'd want to do anything I tell you, after running out on Wily like that. But I want you to know, I was there with you when that happened."

"…what do you mean? Are you doing that poetry thing again?"

"Kinda. I knew every word you were gonna say, because I said them too. I don't…I don't think Dr Light gave me the same heart that he gave Rock and Roll, but I felt it, felt it when I saw you like that."

Silence.

"…Are you okay?" Bass's voice was small. It was hard for him to take what Blues' had said in. Not given a heart? Even Treble had one of those.

A nervous laugh.

"What? Ha, yeah, I'm fine. But I don't…I don't want you to be like me. I don't want to see you alone like I am. You don't deserve that. You've had enough with Wily, and the worst part is, you'll never fully understand how shitty your life has been so far." Blues hated the feeling of his nose burning, eyes prickling, the misting up of his shades. Hated it.

Especially all over some stray dog of a kid who was gonna probably kiss his baby brother at some point. God, he felt ridiculous.

"I…I don't feel like it was… _that_ bad." Bass mused.

"Exactly. But…It'll be different once you and Rock…I don't know. When you're together. You'll feel different. You'll realize that there's…a lot you never knew. And Roll too. She wants to meet you."

"The girl?"

"Yeah, the _girl_. God, you're an idiot."

Bass smiled.

"Roll's good too. If you need someone, she's there for you. I guess," a much more genuine laugh, but still, it felt too sad for Bass, "I guess third time's the charm, eh? Anyway…I'm sure you're sick of people telling you what to do. And you don't have to do anything we say. But if there's anything you _do_ do…listen to Rock. Just…listen to him. Be quiet and listen."

A painful pause. Bass heard Blues swallow back a noise that he was not proud of. He heard him take off his shades, and knew he was rubbing at his eyes.

"G-God knows I should've a long time ago. But you've got the chance now, so take it, you…you little shit." He laughed one last time, but it was weak, frail, and could barely be heard over the shuddering breaths he took.

Bass hid his face in Treble's mane. He couldn't stand the sound.

Maybe Blues' story never was a happy one.  
But that…that wasn't fair. Bass never wanted to believe what Wily had told him, but maybe it was true.

"Hey. Kid." Quiet now, breathing forced.

"Uh…y-yeah?"

"You ever regret somethin'?" No matter what he did, Blues could not keep his voice full. It wavered perilously on the verge of tears.

Bass blinked, realizing the fur around his face was wet with his own tears.

"…no."

"Good."

"Wait."

Blues looked up from his oily hands.

"I…I once really hurt Rock, when we were fighting. And…" He swallowed, and wiped his nose on his arm. "He cried."

Blues was silent. He'd been there, too.

"I felt…I felt…I don't know, but I wanted to go back, and pretend…pretend I hadn't seen him on the radar. Told Wily that he escaped. Wish I hadn't tracked him down."

The memory itself had been one Bass blocked out, forgotten until now. It made him sick to his stomach remembering it.

"I don't…I don't think he remembers, but I picked him up. Put him behind…some rubble so he could hide. He was.." Bass inhaled sharply. "Hurt bad." The boy pushed his face into his hands, trying desperately not to sob. "I'm sorry. I didn't know, Wily never told me, never told me he could _cry_ …!"

Blues eyes widened, the hole in his chest burning like hellfire.

He'd been there. After it all. Seen his brother broken, his body tucked away behind some I-beams, how he'd lifted him, taken him home, couldn't, couldn't–couldn't even go in the door, too, too scared…! Had to…break in to the lab, laid him down, on the table, ran, ran, ran, ran–

Before Bass could look up, he heard Blues drop from the loft, and for a moment, he was struck with fear. Was he going to–

He made a startled noise as he was, without warning, swept into Blues' arms.

Both were quiet, shakily trying to catch their breath against each other. Blues' shades fell to the ground, but Bass did not pick them up. The boy's face was pushed to his shoulder, and he wept.

"I did it too! But I _knew_ he could cry! My own…my own _brother!"_

Bass was shaken out of his thoughts by a gentle moof from Treble.

There it was. Bass looked up. It had been over a few hours now. The moon was much closer to the horizon than before.

"Snoof."

"Yeah, I know. I told Blues I'd go with him in the morning, but…I need to…be alone with Rock, for this, I think."

"Boofle." Treble relented.

"You have the record ready?"

"Boof!"

"Okay, good, I'm…I'm going to make this one count. For Blues, for my brothers, for…" Bass took a deep breath, "For all of us."


	11. Quiet Desperation

**[Never Gonna Give You Up | Rick Astley]**

Rock stirred in his sleep.

Was Blues already here? What was that noise? It sounded like it was outside.

He grunted, and rolled over, squishing Rush, who yipped in his ear. Rock jerked away, and sat up, rubbing his eyes. It was…there was a thumping noise. Like when someone drove by with really big sub woofers.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he pulled himself out of bed, and padded quietly to his window. If it was a car, it was in his backyard.

Wait a minute. He knew those synths. That thudding bass. Bass…bASS–!

Rock threw open his window to catch the first verse of a song he would rather never existed.

" _We're no strangers to love…"_

Oh, my God.

Rock felt his chest shudder uncontrollably with laughter.

Bass was in his backyard, belting out Rick Astley, like his life _depended_ on it.

Not only that, but Treble was with him. On his hip joint spun a record, which was the source of the awful tune. To top it all off, Bass was using the tip of Treble's tail as a mic. The wolf had a big grin on its face, and bobbed its head to the beat. _Incredible_.

It _had_ to be Bass…but there was no helmet, no–wait, WILY GAVE HIM HAIR?! PURPLE HAIR?! Rock shook the shock from his head, and went to listen.

The boy leaned over and propped up his chin in his hands and watched for a few moments. Bass was not holding back, that was for sure.

" _You wouldn't get this from any other guy…"_

Rock felt himself begin to mouth along to the chorus, and caught himself smiling. He buried his head in his hands, cheeks burning.

"Bass!" He groaned loudly into his palms. "Are you fucking serious right now?" He felt his voice crack and squeak, unable to hold back laughter. He looked up again to behold the sight of Bass pulling off a surprisingly good moonwalk.

Rock choked on his own spit.

"Bass! What are you _doing?!"_ He yelled, voice straining against the wide grin on his face.

"SHUT UP! I gotta finish the whole song!" Bass grinned back.

" _We've known each other, for so long…  
Your heart's been achin', but you're too shy to say it…"_

Rock bit his lip, hiding his face in his hands, the blush of his cheeks making his palms hot. This was…

" _Never gonna give you up!  
Never gonna let you down!  
Never gonna run around and desert you!  
Never gonna make you cry!  
Never gonna say goodbye!  
Never gonna tell a lie, and hurt you!" _

" _Bass_ …" He mumbled, his heart making it hard to think, to cry, or keep laughing.

The song finally hit the outro, and the crackling noise of the record was all that was left of the fireworks that Rock felt in his chest.

"Hey." Bass smiled up at him from where he stood, then turned to give Treble a couple pats. The boy was quiet for a bit. "Rock?"

Rock smiled, leaning over the windowsill more, cheeks rosy, his entire body prickling with the most wonderful warmth.

"Yeah?"

A chuckle.

"How was it?" He smirked, hand on his hip. "Blues told me it was your favorite song, and I couldn't settle for anything but the best."

That wonderful warmth that Rock was enveloped in seconds ago briefly turned sour. BLUES. GODDAMN IT BLUES. But it didn't matter. The boy was already laughing.

"It was…amazing. I…uh…" Rock, in the quiet, in the stillness, the open air of a dying night, was speechless. Bass had traveled all this way, rejecting everything he was taught, just to…

"You alright? Okay, I'm not like, the greatest singer ever, but one day I will be. Or wait, maybe you're gonna cry because I'm just so damn cool, or–" Bass suddenly tensed. "Wait, don't cry, I can sing something else, um, do, do you like Kelly Clarkson? I uh, I've got 'Breakaway' memorized, uh, if Treble can't find the cd for it, uh–" The boy frantically looked about, and his pet moofed in confusion.

"Bass." Rock's voice was soft. He watched as the last fireflies floated without care around the boy and his dog. Was it…was this really all…there was…a dream, a dream,

No, it was all real.  
Dreams didn't feel this good.

"Uh…uh, yeah, w-what?"

"Come here."

"Oh, uh…okay, hang on. Um, Treble?"

The wolf shook his head. He already knew.

"Thanks, boy. I'll be right back, I promise."

Bass felt for the first time in his life, a warm fear. A warm fear that prickled his skin, making his way up to the windowsill. Rock must've just woken up. He never thought of him having such fluffy dark brown hair. Or…long eyelashes. Wow.

"Hey."

"Uh…yeah?" Bass looked away. Besides, it kinds hurt his neck to keep looking up. If he was truthful, he wanted to hide ruddy cheeks.

 **[Silver Lining | Lights & Motion]**

"Take my hands. I'm gonna pull you up."

The boy looked up. He swallowed.

"Okay."

Rock's hands were tiny in his, but they were strong. Warm. Soft. Bass couldn't help notice how pale the boy's skin was in comparison to his own.

With enough scrabbling, struggling, and laughing, he was hauled up to the windowsill. The last few seconds of tugging, Rock lost his balance and Bass came crashing in, toppling into him. They both giggled for a bit, sorting out arms and legs, before standing up.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRR RUFF!"

In seconds, Rush, forgotten on the bed, was on Bass, snarling and barking, cornering him back to the windowsill.

A bad dog! In HIS boy's house! He snapped again, furious at the intruder.

"Rush! Stop, it's okay, it's okay! Bass is…Bass is good now, alright? He won't hurt me."

The older boy watched as Rock pulled Rush away, tapping the dog's nose to reprimand him. "It's okay. I promise." He used a softer tone now.

Rush settled, and returned to the bed, but let out a frustrated huff. The one time he had that bad dog within biting distance, and–oh well. His boy always knew best.

Bass swallowed again, looking down now. God, the kid was short. And kinda scrawny. He wasn't wearing a shirt, just loose pajama bottoms.

This is what had kicked his ass all these years? This little-

He paused, catching Rock's gaze. His thoughts were instantly silenced.

It was a sad look the boy gave him. Sad…but gentle.

"Hey." Bass began, but didn't know where to end.

"I'm happy you're okay. I…" Rock hunched up his shoulders and shivered, averting his eyes. "I was worried…I was worried you were…"

"Dead?" Bass boomed with laughter. "Ha! Fat chance. You know you can't get rid of me _that_ easily." He put his hands on his hips and sneered down at the boy.

Rock couldn't help but smile to himself.

"Sorry…Sorry for…all I said, I…" He curled his toes on the hard wood floor. "I didn't mean to…hurt you like that."

Bass shrugged. "I needed it. I've…I've finally figured that the truth is gonna hurt a lot more than any lie. But…it's okay. I'd rather get smacked upside the head with the truth than be force fed lies all my life." He folded his thick arms.

Silence.

"Um…" Rock rocked on his heels for a moment, "Uh,"

"Hey." Bass interrupted.

"Wh-what?"

"Do we kiss now, or what? Like, is that what all this is supposed to lead up to? Us kissing? Is that what friends do? Because we're friends now, right?"

Rock stumbled back in alarm at the notion, but Bass reached out to steady him, his hands dwarfing the smaller boy's shoulders.

"Uh, I…we…we _could_ , but…" He hesitated, knees pressing together nervously.

"But?" Bass slowly let his hands slip away.

"…there's so much more…than just kissing." Rock murmured, still unable to meet Bass's intent stare.

"There is? Like what? I thought you kissed, and that was it, you were like, married or something?"

"M-maRRIED?!" Rock squawked.

Roll stirred in her bed across the hall.

"I don't fuckin' know, dude! Elecman tells me this shit. People kiss, get married, and then have babies."

"Ah," Rock stuttered, "Ah, ha…yeah, uh…that's…that's a little different."

"So, what's next? I was told to listen to you. And here I am." Bass felt a twinge of impatience. He kinda expected some grand speech from his rival.

Then again, it was three am, and he'd just woken the poor bastard up by yelling "Never Gonna Give You Up" at the top of his lungs.

"Y-you were? Oh, uh…well…"

"What do friends do, Rock?"

The boy was quiet for a moment.

"They do all sorts of things. Play games, watch movies, have sleepovers, um…"

"No kissing?"

"No, not…not usually."

All the tension in Bass's body escaped in a sigh of relief.

"Okay, cool, because, like…I've never kissed anyone before, and I'm probably not really good at it."

A pause. Rock shied away from the sudden determined look Bass gave him.

"But I'll be the best at it, if I gotta."

Rock giggled, and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it now. Just make yourself comfortable, you walked all the way here, didn't you?"

Bass nodded.

"Then stay there. I'll go get some warm E-tanks, and my VHS of Lion King. We can watch that together." He blinked. "That's a good way to start, I think."

Bass watched as Rock turned to leave. The boy got to the door, and stopped.

"Um…like, sit on the bed. Rush won't bite. Right Rush?" Rock gave his pet a stern look.

The dog rolled his eyes and flopped onto his side with another huff.

"Good. I'll be right back, okay?"

Bass was almost taken aback by the childish giddiness in Rock's voice.

Was that…was that what Blues had meant by listening? Not to the words, but…

Bass settled on the bed, and looked around. The lights were still off, but there was a faint glow from a worn looking nightlight in the shape of a dog plugged in near an old wooden dresser. The last breezes of summer made the blue curtains billow lightly in the night.

All of what he saw around him, reminded him of his own room. The floor was a little less messy, and there were less posters of Metallica, (none to be exact, a crying shame by Bass's standards), but no matter how he looked at it…it was a mirror image of what his was like.

Knick knacks Rock collected, on top of the dresser. Some old stuffed animals. A pile of cd's by a computer desk. A bookshelf divided into one shelf of ratty, dog eared books, and another of ones that had been hardly touched.

Strange.

Things seemed to blur the moment Rock came back, everything melting into a strange, dizzying experience. Instead of sitting on the opposite side of the bed, the boy sidled right up to him, bunching his knees up and hugging them to his chest as the screen flickered and the distorted audio and images slowly came together in clarity.

Bass watched Rock more than the movie. He seemed…like a completely different person. There was nothing dead in his eyes. Not a look of someone who'd abandoned their purpose in overwhelming despair.

There was a genuine spark of life in those eyes now. A lucid joy, one that could only be felt after a crushing pain. Bass wondered, wondered if this was why…he never won his fights. If that spark, the way he could feel his heart pulsing by him, if it was all that simple.

If it all was hope.

The boy shivered as Rock leaned into him, desperate for the feeling of companionship, a long lost dream of his, now found in the gentle touch of his rival. It was a mutual desperation. Made stronger by every fight, every tear shed, every throat-tearing scream.

A quiet desperation, where impulse reigned, and the heart led the hands to find their place.

 **[Mufasa's Death | Hans Zimmer]**

"I don't like this part." Rock spoke with a deep pain in his voice. Bass had felt it too, seeing the small lion cub's face pull back in horror at the oncoming stampede.

"I don't like this part." Rock said louder, his fists curling tightly. Mufasa ran across the screen.

A quiet desperation.

"His dad's gonna save him, it's fine." Bass was confused. "The wildebeest are scared of lions, aren't they?"

Silence.

Bass blinked.

"Wait, he just got knocked out, right? I mean, shit dude, if I got hit by one of those, I'd–"

He heard Rock inhale sharply, and saw the cub tug vainly on his father's ears.  
Quiet desperation. There was nothing in the cries for help.

The boy looked over at Rock. His face had crumpled, and tears fell freely from his chin.

"Wait, no, he's okay, he's a fuckin' lion! He's…he's asleep, isn't he? He's just, just…"

Bass turned back to the screen. He felt his heart sink as the cub weakly pushed itself under its father's arm, and wept.

A gentle desperation, shared through bonds invisible, in a simple touch. Rock's hand was still tiny in his.

"He'll wake up. He has to. Who's…who's gonna be there…to be his dad?" Bass felt his voice lose its confidence with every word. He bristled as Scar strode onto the screen.

"No!"

Rock cowered as the music became harsh, unyielding, biting to his ears. Bass held his hand tighter.

The sharpness was dashed away with a suddenness, the same as it had begun.

Bass kept his hand curled around Rock's for longer than he could remember.  
He felt his heart leap at knowing Nala had returned.

 **[Can You Feel The Love Tonight | Movie Version]**

"This part's…this is my favorite part." Rock said softly. Bass tensed, feeling the tiny fingers slip through his. His vision blurred for a moment.

This was what Blues meant. It never had been about words. He swallowed thickly as Rock's body relaxed, and the boy rested his cheek on his shoulder.

There was a softness in this, a softness Bass had never felt in his life. His heart raced, and he felt each breath he took shudder in his lungs. It was not the feeling he got when Elecman smiled at him, or when Iceman gave him a warm hug. Not even the same feeling he got from Treble cuddling up to him, mouth in a dog's smile, tongue lolling.

A warm, tender fear. Where the heart and impulse became one. Im…pulse, pulse, _pulse_ –

Their hearts were beating together, hands connecting the energy that flowed through them.

Bass turned his head to look at the gentle face of the boy who lay against him, the entire world around them contained in that tiny room that night. Outside these walls, beyond the window, nothing existed.

No summer, no fireflies, no barn far away with cows and a sleeping brother, no mansion on a brambled hill, no brothers waiting for him–it was all lost in the music, in the quiet desperation.

Of love.

 **[Everdream | Epic Soul Factory]**

Truth be told, Bass did not remember most of the movie after that. He did remember, however, seeing Mufasa in the clouds, Rafiki's time worn wisdom–

The past _can_ hurt. He blinked.

The music swelled, the rain fell, the lions roared, but Bass felt nothing but the little fingers intertwined in his. He stared blindly at the screen.

It wasn't until the final seconds of rolling credits in which the loss of Rock's hand in his brought him to his senses. The boy had jumped up to turn off the vcr before the ear piercing shriek of static death struck.

He had almost forgotten the world, too.

Quiet. Quiet now, loud now, heavy now, soft now, hearts beating, sight lost, as they looked at one another.

"Friends have sleepovers too." Rock whispered shyly. "It's late. You should…spend the night here."

Bass, face set in a resting pout, continued to stare at him.

Rock giggled. "It's okay, I uh…I have some extra pj's. You can take off your armor padding."

"They won't fit." Bass frumped. "You're too fuckin' tiny."

Rock rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. But…" He furrowed his brow. "You…you have skin under the padding, right?"

"No, I have pudding. Of COURSE I have skin, you dork."

"S-sorry. I don't know how Wily designed you." Rock hung his head, ashamed he'd assumed Bass was nothing more than a robot built to fight. He was a child, too.

Bass laughed. "Y'know, when I first saw you, I tried to pick out all our differences. So it'd be easier to fight you. I started making ones up. Eye color, the shape of your face…every tiny detail. Just so I didn't see myself in you." His expression became cold, sad. The pride that was once ever present in his eyes fell to shame. "But it got…" He tensed, and closed his eyes.

Rock moved closer.

"It got harder every time. Harder to tell us apart. It was your eyes. Every single time. The way you looked. I…" The boy turned his head away, stomach tightening with an oily sickness. He felt the tears prick like thorns.

"I should've stopped. Should have talked to you. But I didn't because I didn't…I never thought I had a choice, I, I, I–I never thought–"

Closer.

"I never thought! And that's why it kept going. And why I kept hurting you. Because I didn't…didn't stop to think…"

Bass could feel Rock's breaths on his chest.

"…I had a _chance_. To be your _friend_." He managed weakly, gritting his teeth.

Quiet. Desperation. Im, pulse, pulse, _pulse_ , and,

Bass felt his body react, react to the touch, to the wiry arms around him, to the little cheek on his broad chest, felt himself tense in fear. But his heart ignored it. And the tears still fell. And it was quiet. And the world had disappeared, nothing existing outside of this child's embrace.

 _And it was good._

It was _kind_ , and it was _good_.

Bass's arms hung like stones at his side. They shook, like his chest, with the impulse, pulse, _PULSE_ –

And then the circle was complete. And the world was complete.  
 _And it was._

Bass wept freely, as a child, head back, jaw taut.  
He finally heard what his brothers told him, what Blues told him.

He finally listened.

To the quiet desperation.

 _And it was good._

* * *

Summer had passed, threading its last sighs through the twined fingers of children, the hush of a sleeping dog between their toes.

"Hey…Bass?"

"Hm?"

"Why's your hair purple, but only on the…uh, long parts?"

Bass grinned. "Treble's purple. So I dyed it."

Rock squinted. "You…died your hair…the same color as your dog?"

"Damn straight I did." The boy was smug right on up to the point where he felt Rock's nose to his neck.  
A brush of legs. A tiny foot on his. He felt his eyes droop despite the tenseness of his body.

"….Hey, Rock?"

"Mm."

"How…how the hell did you beat me every single time? You're…you're just so fuckin' little, dude."

Rock snuggled closer to him, forehead to his collarbone.

"Does it really matter now?"

"….what do you mean?"

"Bass." Rock was gentle. "Look around you. Look where you are now. Does knowing how I beat you, so long ago…does that really matter to you right now? In this moment?"

Bass's drooping eyes widened. All he could see was the faint light of old glow-in-the-dark stars that studded the ceiling of Rock's room. Tiny pinpricks of heaven, muted and faded…but still there.

"…no. I don't think…it'll ever matter again, if I'm honest."

Rock smiled into the boy's soft skin, sharing his warmth.

He and Rock lay in Rock's bed, sheets messily thrown over each other. Bass's padding had been tossed to the floor earlier. Both boys were surprised at how much they really _were_ built like the other.  
The same soft skin, even carefully, lovingly molded "baby fat" on their bellies. The differences Bass had frantically searched out before had become similarities.

In the end, the softness of the other's lips, was all the similarity Bass needed, to know, he had always had a choice. He always had the freedom to choose, a path of his own.

There was no quiet desperation now. No impulse. The warm fear had faded, into a gentleness, a tenderness of the last days of summer.

There was _peace_.


	12. EVERY SINGLE SPICE GIRLS SONG AT ONCE

**[Shit - Neil Cicierega]**

There was an emptiness on the first cool brush of fall wind on Rock's face. There was also something cold. Very cold. Freezing cold, f-freezing–

"Wake the fuck up, you little shit."

Rock squinted, the sharp autumn sun making the few hours of sleep he got painfully obvious. He blearily made out a blurry figure standing by his bedside with a bag of ice in his hand.

" _BLUES!_ "

"Oh, my fucking God, every time, _every fucking time_. It's not even _surprising_ at this point." He rolled his eyes, but still gave his little brother a grin as he flicked the side of his shades, making them glint.

Rock rubbed his cheek warm again.

"Wh-what are you, doing here?" His throat felt rusty. He sniffled, eyes watering. Damn, he was tired.

"Your boyfriend left his fuckin' dog parked under the tree out back."

Rock stared dumbly at his brother for a while, eyes drooping. Then–

"My wHAT?!" His eyes flew open and flailed about in the tangled sheets, looking for a very long gone Bass. That wasn't a dream, it wasn't, right?! No, the dog, parked…out back…TREBLE?

"Anyway, God only knows where Romeo went off to, but he's got an ass kickin' comin.'" Blues smiled warmly. "Roll heard you two last night. Thank your lucky stars that Dad sleeps like a fuckin' rock. He'd have wrung your neck."

Rock let out a strangled groan and fell back into bed, hands covering his face. It looked bad, didn't it? At least the padding on the floor was gone. But so were Rock's pajama bottoms. He'd never slept with anyone other than his siblings, so Bass's warmth had been overwhelming to him. He'd kicked them off at some point in his sleep.  
 _Shit_.

"I mean, I know…I know you wouldn't, _right?"_ Blues bent down, hands on his hips, eyebrows up.

"N-no! God no!" Rock screamed from behind his hands.

Blues straightened up, laughing.

"Good. That shit's for humans, not robots."

"Go awayyyyyyy…" His little brother whined loudly.

"Hey, did you know Treble likes tennis balls like Rush?" Roll poked her head in to Rock's room.  
She blinked. "….oh. Did I…interrupt something?" She glanced from her one naked brother to a fully clothed one.

"aaaaAAAAHHHHHH….!" Rock continued to yell into his hands. Blues broke down into a gigglefit.

Roll inhaled. Why did she even bother. Boys were impossible, and brothers were even worse. She turned around, slamming the door behind her.

"Okay, okay, alright. I've given you enough shit, take it easy." Blues caught his breath, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Mmmmmmhhhhhhggghhh…" Rock curled on his side, face smashed into the nearest pillow.

"Honestly, though. Good on you, Juliet. You took a step in uniting the Capulets and Montagues. Or uh…Light's and Wily's?" Blues winked. "Proud of you. I sure as shit couldn't have done it."

Rock continued his muffled screaming.

"Anyway, I'll wait until you're done. Because Dad's gone. I think he went to see Wily, actually. Man can't lie worth shit, I know he isn't going to the University for a talk."

The muffled screaming stopped. An exasperated _"THANK YOU"_ rung out from the backyard. Roll.

"Dad's gone?" Rock pulled his head up from the pillow.

"Yeah. Sometimes I forget he and Wily were friends once."

Rock furrowed his brow, and stayed silent.

"Anyway, maybe this whole fiasco will…I dunno. Give everyone a second chance." Blues shrugged. "Either way, I gotta go find Bass before he gets himself lost or something." He stifled a yawn. "I was so pissed to see him gone when I woke up, I forgot to say goodbye to Madame BigTits. A cardinal sin, as far as I'm concerned."

Rock yawned back, jaw hurting from smiling.

"You really think he…went home?"

"No. He's arguably smarter than most rocks, so he's probably just…gone somewhere. Don't know why he left Treble here, though."

"HEY! I FOUND SOMETHING!"

Roll's yell caught the attention of both brothers, and they scrambled to the windowsill.

"Treble had something in his fur! It's a note!"

"A _love letter_?" Blues sneered. Rock punched him in the shoulder.

"No, uh, maybe? I don't know, it just says…hang on," Roll squinted at the chicken scratch.

" _Wait for me."_

"Wait for me?"

"It could also say 'Wart fun mo," this is worse than YOUR handwriting, Blues."

"That's why I text you guys instead of sending letters."

"Yeah, but what's it mean? Is Bass like…gone for good?"

"He left his fuckin dog, he's comin' back." Blues said plainly. "He's just a shy fucker. Didn't want to face the morning, and I don't blame him. Anyway, I'll go hunt his ass down. He's gotta find a place to stay if he's left Wily, and…"

He turned from the window to Rock. "Not only do I think your dad's gonna be against Bass staying in the house, I'm not giving up my old room for him."

Rock grinned. "Then what?"

"I'll ask Madame BigTits when the rent is due." Blues grinned back.

* * *

Smiling to himself, Bass huddled in the warm straw of the empty stall, the fall sun's rays streaming in from the broken window above the opposite loft.

Madame BigTits lowed gently, and Bass knew one day, he'd get the nerve to stay the whole damn night through.

But until then…midnight visits would have to do.


End file.
